Vallecular Cyst: Diverse Clinical Presentation and Airway Management Techniques – A Case Series

Abstract

Vallecular Cysts (VC) are laryngeal cysts found most frequently at true vocal cords followed by epiglottis and vallecula, which develops due to obstruction of the submucosal gland. In children, they present with stridor, respiratory distress, feeding difficulty, failure to thrive or as an incidental finding on laryngoscopy. The anaesthesiologist can face the risk of obstructed breathing during mask holding, obscured laryngeal view, loss of airway, rupture of cyst and potential aspiration of cyst contents. Various techniques of airway management have been described in literature. We report a series of three cases with VC where we managed the airway successfully. We also discuss the relevant literature review.

Keywords

• vallecular cyst
• inhalational induction
• paraglossal laryngoscopy
• McCoy’s blade
• cyst aspiration
• airway obstruction