Ptosis, facial numbness and parotid gland mass as the first symptoms of an extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma, nasal type.

We present a case of a patient visiting the ear, nose and throat department with a parotid gland mass, ptosis and facial numbness. CT imaging confirmed a mass in the parotid gland; however, it also revealed a mass in the left maxillary sinus. MRI, positron emission tomography combined with CT and nasal biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of a extranodal natural killer/T cell lymphoma, nasal type. Because this is a rare clinical entity in Western society, patients are typically diagnosed in an advanced stage; symptoms resemble chronic rhinosinusitis and histopathological analysis is challenging. In this atypical case, the patient presented with symptoms of ptosis, parotid gland mass and facial numbness instead of nasal symptoms. In this case, we want to emphasise that diagnosing a sinonasal NK/T-cell lymphoma is often challenging.