CASE REPORTS
Cherubism and upper airway obstruction,☆☆

Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Washington, DC, September 29–October 2, 1996.
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CASE REPORT

A 5-year-old boy with cherubism had progressive nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea, and sleep disturbance during the year before presentation. His parents stated that he would stop breathing while asleep and would awaken multiple times throughout the night because of difficulty breathing. His performance in kindergarten had not been affected, although he had occasional daytime somnolence. Of note, his father had cherubism as a child but had no airway difficulties.

The patient showed characteristic

DISCUSSION

This is the first report associating cherubism with complete nasal obstruction and OSA severe enough to require tracheotomy. The natural history of cherubism indicates that patients’ nasal and upper airway obstructions will eventually improve and that the tracheotomy will ultimately be unnecessary. In patients with cherubism, a tracheotomy can cure OSA while also allowing regular physical and school activities as well as acceptable speech with the aid of a speaking valve.

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Reprint requests: Alex Battaglia, MD, Division of Otolaryngology, University of California San Diego, 200 W Arbor Dr, San Diego, CA 92103.

☆☆

Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2000;122:573-4.

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