Bifid epiglottis

Bifid epiglottis is a rare congenital defect that is often associated with other congenital annomalies. The most common defect associated with a bifid epiglottis are anomalies of the hands and/or feet (90%) while the most dan gerous and potentially lethal anomaly if not recognized and treated are hyp othalamic hamartomas and hypopituitarism (50%). A bifid epiglottis will oft en result in severe respiratory distress secondary to laxity of the cartila ge and chronic aspirations, which may require surgical intervention. We pre sent the case of a 10-week-old child who was sent for evaluation of strider and aspiration. Office laryngoscopy demonstrated a true bifid epiglottis a nd further evaluation demonstrated a hypothalamic hamartoma consistent with Pallister-Hall syndrome. Management of our case as well as those previousl y presented in the literature are reviewed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Irela nd Ltd. All rights reserved.