CASE REPORT article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Neonatology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1543250
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances and Challenges in Neonatal Surgery: Congenital and Acquired ConditionsView all 28 articles
Multidisciplinary Management of Extensive Cervical Lymphatic Malformations and Epiglottic Cyst in a Neonate: A Case Report and Review of Perioperative Strategies
Provisionally accepted
- Anhui Provincial Children’s Hospital, Hefei, China
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Lymphatic malformations (LMs) are rare congenital anomalies that can cause life-threatening airway obstruction in neonates, particularly when located in the cervicofacial region. The coexistence of lymphatic malformations with an epiglottic cyst further exacerbates airway compromise, posing significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. We report the case of a 27-day-old neonate with extensive cervical lymphatic malformations and an epiglottic cyst causing severe airway obstruction. Timely intervention, including laser ablation of the epiglottic cyst and sclerotherapy for the lymphatic malformations, was successfully performed under general anesthesia. Perioperative management emphasized safe airway control and meticulous surgical planning. Postoperative outcomes were favorable, with significant reduction in lymphatic malformations size and resolution of airway obstruction after additional sclerotherapy sessions. This case underscores the importance of a multidisciplinary approach, combining advanced imaging, innovative airway management techniques, and minimally invasive procedures, to achieve optimal outcomes in complex neonatal airway and vascular anomalies.
Keywords: Lymphatic malformations, Epiglottic cyst, Neonatal airway obstruction, laser ablation, Sclerotherapy, general anesthesia
Received: 11 Dec 2024; Accepted: 22 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cai, Zhang, Wang and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yuzhu Cai, Anhui Provincial Children’s Hospital, Hefei, China
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