title: Surgical management of parapharyngeal cystic hygroma causing sudden airway obstruction.
abstract: Parapharyngeal cystic hygroma is a rare tumor of the neck. This report describes two cases in which surgical resection was necessary to overcome sudden airway obstruction and details the surgical technique. These cases were considered "near misses" for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and were revealed by computed tomography (CT) and echography to be parapharyngeal cystic hygroma. The location of this malformation could have produced sudden airway collapse and be erroneously diagnosed as SIDS. The postoperative follow-up was satisfactory and no recurrence was detected. We believe CT and echography should be included in the evaluation of such cases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, University of Louvain Medical School, St Luc Hospital, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamoir
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Remacle
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Youssif
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moulin
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Francois
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Claus
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kahn
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Frederickx
mesh_terms: D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008202:Lymphangioma / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male