Tongue Cyst in a Neonate: Unusual Presentation

Ayshah J Al-Mahboob,Eman A Hajr,Ahmed Alammar

doi:10.7759/cureus.9252

Abstract

Congenital cysts of the tongue base are an uncommon cause of airway obstruction. The diagnosis of upper airway cysts requires a high index of clinical suspicion. We report a case of a vallecular cyst that uniquely extended to the dorsum of the tongue, and the patient presented with airway distress. We found that this presentation may facilitate an early diagnosis, as asymmetry of the tongue can be picked up easily during proper clinical examination.Therefore, inspection and palpation of the dorsal surface of the tongue is crucial for the approach of pediatric patients with airway obstruction.

Highlights

Congenital cysts of the tongue base are a fairly uncommon cause of airway obstruction [1,2]
Laryngeal cysts are divided into true vallecular cysts and vallecular pseudocysts depending on their location - whether they are close to the lingual surface of the epiglottis or at the base of the tongue, respectively [4]
Multiple cases of supra-glottic cysts have been reported in the pediatric age group, and vallecular cysts represent the identities that are most likely close to our case, as can be noticed from our patient's imaging that demonstrated a trans-lingual cystic lesion extending to the tongue base

Summary

Introduction

Congenital cysts of the tongue base are a fairly uncommon cause of airway obstruction [1,2]. Her birth weight was 3 kg, and she was discharged from the nursery along with the mother four days after delivery in good health She was doing fine until the age of one month when her mother noticed a swelling on the left side of her tongue that progressed in size and resulted in breathing difficulties, mainly during sleep. The patient remained intubated for one day and was extubated smoothly She was kept for observation for one week without any respiratory problems or feeding difficulties and was discharged home in good condition. The patient consented for excision of the tongue cyst and was intubated under general anesthesia smoothly with a 3.5 mm ETT. At the two year follow-up, the patient had no recurrence and was doing fine

Discussion

Conclusions

Disclosures