Epignatus. a propósito de un caso y revisión de la literatura

Transpalatal endoscopic endonasal resection of a giant epignathus skull base teratoma in a newborn

“…An epignathus teratoma functions as a grotesque obstructive foreign body, and an infant delivery followed by inadequate protection of the airway invariably leads to death. 14,25 A tracheostomy procedure is necessary in the majority of cases to keep the infant alive. For cases such as the one described here in which the epignathus teratoma protrudes through the mouth, the possibility of securing the airway by orotracheal intubation is not feasible.…”

“…10 Epignathus presentation of teratomas is very uncommon and this tumor presentation is associated with a high mortality rate during the neonatal period. 2,10,11,25 The incidence rate of epignathus teratomas has been esti-mated to be between one in 35,000 to one in 800,000 live births. 5,31 Epignathus teratomas can be so large that they can protrude from the oral cavity or extend along the eustachian tube into the middle ear.…”

“…10,14,31 To date, the standard technique used for resecting these lesions has consisted of traditional craniofacial approaches with microscopic assistance. 5,10,14,23,25,28 In the last decade, there has been a progressive introduction of the endoscope to surgically access the ventral skull base. Recently, various skull base diseases have been managed with the assistance of endoscopes, including small teratomas.…”