Glossoptosis revisited: On the development and resolution of airway obstruction in the Pierre Robin syndrome

The principal complication of the Pierre Robin syndrome is glossoptotic obstruction of the airway. Many infants so affected experience stormy courses, and some eventually die. In these severe cases the most familiar clinical features are asphyxia and inanition, but cor pulmonale and congestive heart failure have also been described. We report here a case that seems noteworthy in two major respects. First, it constitutues only the third reported instance of Pierre Robin syndrome in cor pulmonale and congestive heart failure developed, and subsequently, following relief of upper airway obstruction, resolved. Second, the course of clinical events provided new evidence bearing on both the mechanism of airway obstruction in the Pierre Robin syndrome and the nature of its resolution with increasing age.