Endoscopic extended ventriculotomy for congenital saccular cysts of the larynx in infants.

Objective: To report a new procedure that has been successful in endoscopically treating congenital saccular cysts of the larynx without the need for a tracheostomy or an external incision.

Design: Retrospective chart review of a case series involving 4 patients who underwent a single endoscopic procedure for the treatment of their congenital saccular cysts.

Setting: Two pediatric tertiary care referral centers.

Patients: Four pediatric patients aged 1 to 7 weeks.

Interventions: Three of 4 patients underwent endoscopic extended ventriculotomy for treatment of a congenital laryngeal saccular cyst. The remaining patient had wide unroofing of the cyst through the floor of the vallecula.

Main Outcome Measures: The patients were followed up for breathing difficulties, dysphagia, and dysphonia. Routine flexible endoscopy was used to evaluate for recurrence of cysts.

Results: All 4 patients were successfully treated with a single endoscopic procedure. None has had a recurrence, and none required tracheostomy. One patient subsequently underwent conservative unilateral epiglottoplasty to remove redundant tissue caused by the cyst. Disease-free follow-up ranged from 2 to 6 years.

Conclusions: The endoscopic extended ventriculotomy procedure allowed successful endoscopic management of congenital saccular cysts of the larynx in 3 of 4 patients. Previously described management strategies for these difficult lesions have involved multiple failed endoscopic procedures or an external approach to the lesion and frequently required tracheostomy. With this procedure, we have avoided both a tracheostomy and an external approach to the lesion, which has minimized morbidity. Use of modern instrumentation and surgical adjuncts such as mitomycin C, as well as the support of the laryngeal framework for the continued patency of the ventriculotomy, has led to successful single-stage management of congenital saccular cysts of the larynx.