Branchial anomaly in a newborn presenting as stridor

Abstract

A male patient presented at day 3 of life with a small anterior neck mass and mild intermittent upper airway obstruction. Despite intravenous antibiotics, the patient rapidly progressed to impending airway obstruction requiring surgical intervention. The clinical, radiographic, and histologic findings of this extremely rare case of a third branchial anomaly will be presented. The embryologic basis for the connection to the aerodigestive tract and the access provided to gram negative enteric organisms in newborns will be discussed.