Baby with large teratoma in the mouth

[Una]

A new medical article abstracted on PubMed reports a case of a baby born
with a large teratoma in its mouth, which caused several complications:
polyhydramnios in the mother, major heart defects in the baby, labor at
35 weeks gestation, respiratory distress in the baby (ie, the baby could
not breath freely because the teratoma was in the way). The baby had a
tracheostomy at 4hr and surgery to remove the tumor at 4w. The article
abstract does not mention the baby's outcome beyond that point.

I hope someone talks to the parents about cancer surveillance. There is
a pretty good chance of it, as the report is from the UK, where beginning
last year the pediatric germ cell tumor registry has begun trying to
register all teratomas, not just the ones that are clearly malignant at
the time of surgery.

Here is the ref:

Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2008 Jul 2.
A Large teratoma of the hard palate: A case report.
Benson RE, Fabbroni G, Russell JL.
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Leeds General Infirmary, United Kingdom.

PMID 18602201

Hoping for the very best for this precious little girl,

Una