Hamartoma of the Hypopharynx

—I welcome the letter of To the Editor .—Patterson et al in an article entitled Hamartoma of the Hypopharynx, published in the December 1981Archives(107:767-772), described an interesting case of a hypopharyngeal mass diagnosed as a hamartoma. They assumed that only one case had been previously reported. We have, however, reported a case1 that seems to defy this assumption. It concerns a 58-year-old man who—like his family members—suffered from a short period of gastroenteritis accompanied by diarrhea and vomiting. During a severe bout of vomiting, the patient said he felt something appearing in his throat which subsequently came hanging out of his mouth. With that embarrassing condition, he was seen in the Department of Otolaryngology, Majella Hospital, Bussum, the Patient seen with 15-cm tumor that was diagnosed as hamartoma of hypopharynx. Netherlands (Figure). It appeared to be a lobed mass with a diameter of approximately 5 cm and having