{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T07:22:32Z","timestamp":1785568952317,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":7,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"12","content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Case Rep"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,8]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>A 2-month-old full-term female infant with medical history of situs inversus totalis presented to the emergency department with congestion and abnormal breathing. She was discovered to have failure to thrive (FTT) and subsequently admitted. Investigations revealed a large vallecular mass at the base of her tongue which was noted to cause severe, intermittent airway obstruction. The mass underwent marsupialisation by otolaryngology (ENT) and pathology confirmed a diagnosis of vallecular cyst. The patient made a full recovery and is now growing and thriving. This case emphasises the need to consider anatomic airway abnormalities in the differential diagnosis of young infants with the constellation of respiratory symptoms and FTT. Such airway abnormalities can cause life-threatening airway obstruction if not discovered.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/bcr-2020-237216","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,14]],"date-time":"2023-03-14T00:12:40Z","timestamp":1678752760000},"page":"e237216","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Vallecular cyst: a dangerous cause of failure to thrive in infants"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3419-7422","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pei-Shan","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Annie","family":"Larrow","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA"},{"name":"Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, Rady Children's Hospital San Diego, San Diego, California, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laurie Bernard","family":"Stover","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA"},{"name":"Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, Rady Children's Hospital San Diego, San Diego, California, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Gardiner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA"},{"name":"Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Rady Children's Hospital San Diego, San Diego, California, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025082707055105000_13.12.e237216.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0022215100119796"},{"key":"2025082707055105000_13.12.e237216.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1155\/2014\/764860","article-title":"Vallecular cyst in neonates: case Series\u2014A Clinicosurgical insight","volume":"2014","author":"Gogia","year":"2014","journal-title":"Case Rep Otolaryngol"},{"key":"2025082707055105000_13.12.e237216.3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/(SICI)1099-0496(199904)27:4<282::AID-PPUL10>3.0.CO;2-G"},{"key":"2025082707055105000_13.12.e237216.4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e152","DOI":"10.1097\/PEC.0000000000001571","article-title":"Congenital vallecular cyst as a cause of neonatal stridor and apnea","volume":"34","author":"Oelsen","year":"2018","journal-title":"Pediatr Emerg Care"},{"key":"2025082707055105000_13.12.e237216.5","first-page":"376","article-title":"Congenital vallecular cyst: ARare and potentially lethal condition","volume":"27","author":"Mallick","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Coll Physicians Surg Pak"},{"key":"2025082707055105000_13.12.e237216.6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1258\/shorts.2012.012018"},{"key":"2025082707055105000_13.12.e237216.7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"133","DOI":"10.1016\/S0165-5876(02)00078-2","article-title":"Vallecular cyst: a cause of failure to thrive in an infant","volume":"65","author":"Tuncer","year":"2002","journal-title":"Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol"}],"container-title":["BMJ Case Reports"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/bcr-2020-237216","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,27]],"date-time":"2025-08-27T14:05:56Z","timestamp":1756303556000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/casereports.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/bcr-2020-237216"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,12]]},"references-count":7,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,17]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,12]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1136\/bcr-2020-237216"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bcr-2020-237216","relation":{},"ISSN":["1757-790X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1757-790X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,12]]}}}