TY - JOUR
T1 - Oropharyngeal dermoid cyst in an infant with intermittent airway obstruction a case report
AU - Wagner, Matthias W.
AU - Haileselassie, Bereketeab
AU - Kannan, Sujatha
AU - Chen, Cynthia
AU - Poretti, Andrea
AU - Tunkel, David E.
AU - Huisman, Thierry A.G.M.
PY - 2014/10/1
Y1 - 2014/10/1
N2 - Dermoid cysts are benign epithelial inclusions and cystic lesions that may occur in several locations including the oropharynx. We describe the case of a two-month-old baby girl who presented with progressive respiratory distress, hypoxemia, and feeding difficulties because of an oropharyngeal dermoid cyst. The child had an airway work-up that included laryngoscopy. However, the mass remained undetected. This is most likely explained by the mobile nature of the lesion, prolapsing into the high nasopharynx in supine position. In our patient, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), initially performed to rule out brainstem pathology, revealed an oropharyngeal dermoid cyst. This case shows the potential role of neuroimaging in the diagnostic work-up of a young child presenting with respiratory distress by excluding a central nervous system lesion and diagnosing an "unexpected" nasopharyngeal mass lesion. In addition, MRI allowed exclusion of skull base lesions of neural origin such as an anterior meningoencephalocele or heterotopic neuroglial tissue which would be managed differently from pharyngeal masses.
AB - Dermoid cysts are benign epithelial inclusions and cystic lesions that may occur in several locations including the oropharynx. We describe the case of a two-month-old baby girl who presented with progressive respiratory distress, hypoxemia, and feeding difficulties because of an oropharyngeal dermoid cyst. The child had an airway work-up that included laryngoscopy. However, the mass remained undetected. This is most likely explained by the mobile nature of the lesion, prolapsing into the high nasopharynx in supine position. In our patient, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), initially performed to rule out brainstem pathology, revealed an oropharyngeal dermoid cyst. This case shows the potential role of neuroimaging in the diagnostic work-up of a young child presenting with respiratory distress by excluding a central nervous system lesion and diagnosing an "unexpected" nasopharyngeal mass lesion. In addition, MRI allowed exclusion of skull base lesions of neural origin such as an anterior meningoencephalocele or heterotopic neuroglial tissue which would be managed differently from pharyngeal masses.
KW - Children
KW - Dermoid cyst
KW - Neuroimaging
KW - Oropharynx
KW - Respiratory distress
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U2 - 10.15274/NRJ-2014-10085
DO - 10.15274/NRJ-2014-10085
M3 - Article
C2 - 25260210
AN - SCOPUS:84908164571
SN - 1971-4009
VL - 27
SP - 627
EP - 631
JO - Neuroradiology Journal
JF - Neuroradiology Journal
IS - 5
ER -