title: Oropharyngeal dermoid cyst in an infant with intermittent airway obstruction. A case report.
abstract: Dermoid cysts are benign epithelial inclusions and cystic lesions that may occur in several locations including the oropharynx. We describe the case of a two-month-old baby girl who presented with progressive respiratory distress, hypoxemia, and feeding difficulties because of an oropharyngeal dermoid cyst. The child had an airway work-up that included laryngoscopy. However, the mass remained undetected. This is most likely explained by the mobile nature of the lesion, prolapsing into the high nasopharynx in supine position. In our patient, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), initially performed to rule out brainstem pathology, revealed an oropharyngeal dermoid cyst. This case shows the potential role of neuroimaging in the diagnostic work-up of a young child presenting with respiratory distress by excluding a central nervous system lesion and diagnosing an "unexpected" nasopharyngeal mass lesion. In addition, MRI allowed exclusion of skull base lesions of neural origin such as an anterior meningoencephalocele or heterotopic neuroglial tissue which would be managed differently from pharyngeal masses.
authors.affiliation: Section of Pediatric Neuroradiology, Division of Pediatric Radiology, Russell H Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Baltimore, MD, USA - mwagne18@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Matthias W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Division of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Bereketeab
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Haileselassie
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Sujatha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kannan
authors.affiliation: Section of Pediatric Neuroradiology, Division of Pediatric Radiology, Russell H Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Section of Pediatric Neuroradiology, Division of Pediatric Radiology, Russell H Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poretti
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Tunkel
authors.affiliation: Section of Pediatric Neuroradiology, Division of Pediatric Radiology, Russell H Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Thierry A G M
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Huisman
mesh_terms: D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D003884:Dermoid Cyst / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: children; dermoid cyst; neuroimaging; oropharynx; respiratory distress