NEONATAL CHORISTOMA OF THE TONGUE CONTAINING GLIAL TISSUE - DIAGNOSISAND SURGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

There are only six case reports documenting the presence of glial tiss ue in the tongue. Because of the small number of cases, the presentati on and biologic behavior of these lesions is poorly characterized. We present the case of a 10-day-old male infant who arrived at the Univer sity of Michigan Medical Center with a history of positional dyspnea, with resultant cyanosis and bradycardia, dysphagia, and a mass at the base of the tongue. Histopathologically, this lesion was initially lab eled as a hamartoma, but was ultimately defined as a choristoma based on the exclusive presentation of glial tissue in the specimen. This pa per will discuss the presentation, diagnostic evaluation, and therapeu tic management of this case, In addition, the role of intraoperative e lectrodiagnostic monitoring to preserve neuromuscular function will be addressed.