A case of congenital tongue base cyst in an infant with laryngomalacia

Abstract

A 1-month-old girl with feeding difficulties, failure to thrive and stridor following birth was referred to our department. Milder laryngomalacia was diagnosed by endoscopic laryngoscopic examination and followed continuously. At 2 months old, the stridor and feeding difficulties suddenly worsened after Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccination. The patient was admitted to our hospital because of severe respiratory distress, at which point a tongue base cyst was identified. The cystic mass was resected transorally. The severe respiratory distress and feeding difficulties improved, but symptoms of mild stridor remained for 8 months. No recurrence has been observed up to a year post-operatively.

Keywords

• Pediatric upper airway obstruction
• Laryngomalacia
• Lingual thyroglossal duct cyst
• Hib vaccinne