Drooling in oro-motor dyspraxia: is there a role for surgery?
OBJECTIVE
To report the successful use of a surgical approach for the treatment of drooling in a case of oro-motor dyspraxia.


METHODS
A seven-year-old girl with a diagnosis of oro-motor dyspraxia was referred for management of drooling; this was her only symptom. There were no focal neurological abnormalities. Conservative measures had not helped, and her parents were keen for definitive treatment. Bilateral submandibular duct transposition was performed with no complications. The patient's drooling improved immediately.


CONCLUSIONS
There are currently no reports in the literature of surgery for persistent drooling in children with oro-motor dyspraxia who are otherwise neurologically and developmentally normal. The mainstay of treatment is speech and language therapy. We report the successful use of surgical techniques, usually reserved for children with cerebral palsy or severe neurological disorders, to treat drooling in an otherwise normal seven-year-old child with oro-motor dyspraxia.
Rimmer
Joanne
J
Department of Otolaryngology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK. jrimmer@doctors.org.uk
Hartley
B E J
BE
D001072:Apraxias / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012798:Sialorrhea / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D013363:Submandibular Gland / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome