ANESTHESIA MANAGEMENT OF CYSTIC HYGROMA IN A CHILD: A CHALLENGE

Cystic hygroma (CH) is a benign congenital malformation of the lymphatic system with incidence of 1/6000 live births mainly present in the neck region. It is common in pediatric age group but very rare in adult patients. Perioperative management of CH is a real challenge encountered by the anesthesiologist in view of the difficult airway management and postoperative respiratory complications. A teamwork approach is a key to the successful outcome. Here we report a case of CH in a two year old patient in which the external portion of the swelling was just the tip of an iceberg and had a huge extension intraorally which made the case even more challenging.