Abstract
The vallecular cyst is a rare cause of stridor, respiratory distress, and failure to thrive in infants. Large vallecular cysts may present with serious complications such as life-threatening airway obstruction. This report is of an infant who presented with stridor and failure to thrive. The patient’s condition was diagnosed as the presence of a vallecular cyst using flexible laryngoscopy. The vallecular cyst was successfully managed using endoscopic marsupialization. After the procedure, the patient was asymptomatic and dramatically gained weight within a few months. This case report serves as a reminder for clinicians to consider vallecular cysts as a differential diagnosis of stridor and failure to thrive in infants. It also emphasizes that early diagnosis and management lead to favorable clinical outcomes.
Highlights
Vallecular cysts are rare, representing 10.5-20.1% of all congenital laryngeal cysts [1,2]
We present a case of vallecular cyst in an infant who presented with stridor and failure to thrive; the patient’s condition markedly improved, and no complications occurred owing to the appropriate diagnostic procedure and treatment approach
We emphasize the importance of considering a vallecular cyst as a differential diagnosis for stridor and failure to thrive in infants and highlight that prompt diagnosis and proper management of vallecular cysts lead to favorable clinical outcomes
Summary
Vallecular cysts are rare, representing 10.5-20.1% of all congenital laryngeal cysts [1,2]. Respiratory distress, poor feeding, and failure to thrive [4,5]. A three-month-old male infant presented with stridor and failure to thrive He was delivered vaginally at full-term (birth weight 3.5 kg) and had an uncomplicated neonatal course. A general pediatrician saw him at one month of age for stridor and poor weight gain, assumed a diagnosis of laryngomalacia, and advised the parents to increase the frequency of his feed. After that, his parents sought medical advice several times, including emergency department visits for significant respiratory distress, increasing stridor, and failure to thrive. He quickly gained weight within a few months, reaching 5.5 kg at four months and 8.4 kg at seven months of age, indicating that the child’s weight had increased from below the 3rd percentile to the 50th percentile
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