Airway management in an infant with a giant vallecular cyst.
Review vallecular cysts and report the surgical management of a vallecular cyst of unusual size with near-complete obliteration of the airway. This case report describes an unusually large mucus retention cyst in an 8-week-old infant that was diagnosed during induction of general anesthesia and prevented visualization of airway. Intubation was performed after rapid aspiration of the cyst contents.


CONCLUSIONS
Vallecular cysts can present as a life-threatening obstruction in infants and complicate the establishment of an airway after induction of anesthesia. In our case, rapid thinking and aspiration of the cyst contents helped establish the airway for definitive CO2 laser excision.
LSU-Health Shreveport Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery. Electronic address: dreier@lsuhsc.edu.
David A
DA
Reiersen
LSU-Health Shreveport Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery.
Anil A
AA
Gungor
D058109:Airway Management / Q000379:methods*; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D003560:Cysts / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007818:Laryngeal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D007828:Laryngoscopy; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index