Tracheobronchial rhinosporidiosis: an uncommon life‐threatening benign cause of airway obstruction

Rhinosporidiosis is a chronic granulomatous infectious disease caused by Mesomycetozoea Rhinosporidium seeberi. This highly recurrent polypoid lesion has a predilection for the nose and nasopharynx, although other organ systems may be affected. Involvement of the tracheobronchial tree is very rare, and poses a challenge for diagnosis and management. In this report, we present a 30‐year‐old man with a history of recurrent nasal polyp who presented with cough, shortness of breath, haemoptysis, and a radiological feature of right lung collapse on imaging. He was diagnosed with rhinosporidiosis based on histopathological examination of bronchoscopic biopsy specimen taken from the right principal bronchial mass. Shortly after hospitalization, he developed acute respiratory distress requiring emergency bronchoscopic intervention. A pinkish mulberry‐like tracheal and right bronchial mass was removed endoscopically with cauterization of the base of the lesion. On long‐term follow‐up, the patient was free of symptoms without recurrence of airway disease.
Tracheobronchial rhinosporidiosis is a rare benign cause of endobronchial obstruction and poses challenge for diagnosis and management. We report a 30‐year‐old man who developed acute hypoxaemia by a rapidly growing rhinosporidial mass causing central airway obstruction. Emergency bronchoscopic intervention saved his life.