Tongue shaped oropharyngeal teratoma with cleft palate in a neonate: A case report

Background: Atypical presentation of an atypical abnormality makes the diagnosis challenging. Oropharyngeal teratoma (epignathus) is a rare, potentially life-threatening neonatal tumor. Its atypical presentation may cause a delay in diagnosis and increase morbidity and mortality. Case presentation: A newborn girl with oropharyngeal teratoma and cleft palate presented with feeding difficulty. The airway was patent. The tumor was tongue-shaped, smooth-walled, displacing the native tongue, and prevented the fusion of two palatine halves resulting in cleft palate. On the 4th day of life, complete excision was done transorally. Histopathology revealed a mature teratoma. There was no sign of recurrence at three months of follow-up. Conclusion: Presentation of the oropharyngeal teratoma varies according to its site, size, and extension. Timely diagnosis is essential to avoid life-threatening respiratory obstruction. Complete excision of the mass is usually associated with a good prognosis.

Perspective on Similarities and Possible Overlaps of Congenital Disease Formation—Exemplified on a Case of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia and Neuroblastoma in a Neonate

The coincidence of two rare diseases such as congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) and neuroblastoma is exceptional. With an incidence of around 2–3:10,000 and 1:8000 for either disease occurring on its own, the chance of simultaneous presentation of both pathologies at birth is extremely low. Unfortunately, the underlying processes leading to congenital malformation and neonatal tumors are not yet thoroughly understood. There are several hypotheses revolving around the formation of CDH and neuroblastoma. The aim of our study was to put the respective hypotheses of disease formation as well as known factors in this process into perspective regarding their similarities and possible overlaps of congenital disease formation. We present the joint occurrence of these two rare diseases based on a patient presentation and immunochemical prognostic marker evaluation. The aim of this manuscript is to elucidate possible similarities in the pathogeneses of both disease entities. Discussed are the role of toxins, cell differentiation, the influence of retinoic acid and NMYC as well as of hypoxia. The detailed discussion reveals that some of the proposed pathophysiological mechanisms of both malformations have common aspects. Especially disturbances of the retinoic acid pathway and NMYC expression can influence and disrupt cell differentiation in either disease. Due to the rarity of both diseases, interdisciplinary efforts and multi-center studies are needed to investigate the reasons for congenital malformations and their interlinkage with neonatal tumor disease.

Neumann’s Tumor - A Rare Neonatal Tumor

Neumann’s tumor, also known as congenital granular cell tumor, congenital myoblastoma, congenital epulis, was first described by Neumann in 1871. It’s a rare cause of newborn’s intraoral masses. they are usually on the maxilla and soliter , they can rarely be seen on the mandibula and multiple. Even if it is not clinically symptomatic, surgical resection is performed because of its cosmetic appearance, negative psychological effect on the family , differential diagnosis and treatment. Neumann’s tumor is fully cured by surgical resection because it does not show recurrence or metastasis after excision.

Is There an Association Between Hemangioma and Syndromes With Dysmorphic Features?

Most vascular birthmarks can be categorized, based on clinical and cellular criteria, as either (1) a hemangioma, or (2) a malformation, or (3) a macular stain. Macular stains are commonly seen in newborns, and they consist of faint vascular stains of the glabella, eyelids, and nuchal region called "nevus flammeus," "stork bite," "salmon patch," etc. Unfortunately, the term "hemangioma" is frequently applied to all three types of cutaneous vascular lesions. Usually, these disparate vascular anomalies are listed in association with various malformative syndromes and are generically labeled "hemangioma." This study attempts to define accurately the specific vascular anomalies seen in children born with syndromes with dysmorphic features. This review of five standard textbooks of genetics showed that the majority of vascular anomalies reported in syndromic newborns are not hemangiomas. Rather, they are macular stains, and the vast majority of these fade with time. Congenital telangiectasias and other vascular malformations (capillary, lymphatic, venous, arterial, and combinations thereof) also occur in association with dysmorphic syndromes. contrast, hemangioma, the most common neonatal tumor, is seen only incidentally with rare dysmorphic conditions. Specifically, hemangioma was found to occur only in association with midline (sternal, abdominal) clefting, right-sided aortic arch coarctation, and with a constellation of sacral and genitourinary defects.