Neonatal airway anomaly: vallecular cyst

Description

Neonatal laryngeal cysts are an uncommon but recognised cause of inspiratory stridor and respiratory distress in infants. Although a small cyst may be asymptomatic, due to the anatomical location and the small size of an infant's respiratory tract, larger cysts may cause acute airway obstruction.1 Affected infants typically display symptoms within the first week of life, which include inspiratory stridor, respiratory distress or feeding difficulties. Congenital vallecular cysts, also known as mucus retention cysts, may arise from the mucosal surface of the true vocal fold, epiglottis or vallecula.2 Vallecular cysts are particularly dangerous as they may cause posterior displacement of the supraglottis, causing collapse of the airway during inspiration leading to respiratory compromise. Additionally, several reports have documented an association between laryngomalacia and vallecular cysts.3 Diagnosis is typically obtained through flexible nasopharyngolaryngoscopy, and endoscopic marsupialisation is the recommended surgical approach in...

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