Unfused hypoplastic tongue in a newborn

Malformations of the tongue are rare. There are < 50 cases of tongue hypopl asia reported in the literature since the first case described by de Jussie u in 1718. These are usually associated with the hypoglossia-hypodactaly sy ndrome. We describe a newborn with a hypoplastic anterior tongue unfused to the posterior tongue and airway obstruction. Its embryology, theories of p athogenesis, treatment and clinical course are discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.