All issues > Volume 53(2); 2010

Case Report

Korean J Pediatr. 2010;53(2):258-261. Published online February 15, 2010.

A case of postoperative nasopharyngeal reflux associated with retropharyngeal lymphangioma in newborn infant

Kyo Yeon KY Koo¹, Jun Seok JS Lee¹, Soon Min SM Lee¹, Min Soo MS Park¹, Ran R Namgung¹, Kook In KI Park¹, Chul C Lee¹, Choon Sik CS Yoon², Woo Hee WH Jung³, Hong Shik HS Choi⁴

¹Departments of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
²Departments of Radiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
³Departments of Clinical Pathology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
⁴Departments of Otorhinolaryngology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence Min Soo MS Park ,Tel: +82.2-2019-3351, Fax: +82.2-3461-9473, Email: minspark@yuhs.ac

Abstract

Lymphangioma is a rare benign congenital tumor of the lymphatic system, which is commonly diagnosed before 2 years of age. In the natronal report, cystic lymphangioma was usually reported as a huge translucent mass located in the head and neck area. It's occurrence in retropharyngeal space with respiratory obstruction and swallowing difficulty in neonate is extremely rare and postoperative nasopharyngeal reflux has rarely been reported. Complete resection is the standard therapy. However, involvement of the upper airway may be determining prognosis in the extensive lymphangiomas because of the difficulty of complete excision. We present a case of cystic lymphangioma in neonate which was initially asymptomatic but gradually progressed to cause respiratory obstruction due to enlargement. After resection, nasopharyngeal reflux developed with dysfunction of the soft palate and gradually improved with conservative care over 5 months.

Keywords :Cystic Lymphangioma, Deglutination disorder, Excision, Pharyngeal Diseases