An Oropharyngeal Obstructive Lesion in a Neonate

Abstract

Neonatal HNT in the pharynx is a rare cause of respiratory distress and poor feeding in the newborn, but must be differentiated from teratoma, encephalocele, and nasal glioma. While surgical resection is the preferred treatment modality, we posit there is a role for sclerosis of the glial heterotopic cyst if complete surgical excision is not possible or carries risk of high morbidity. Here, we present a case of a 7-day-old neonate presenting with acute respiratory distress found to have a nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal mass ultimately treated with sclerotherapy at 9 months of age.