Cleft palate lateral synechia syndrome
The case involved a male infant 1 day old at the time of presentation. He was the first child of healthy parents. The infant was delivered normally at full term with a low birth weight of 1,750 g. There were no particularly notable points in the family history, medical history, or reproductive history.\nOn examination, the patient had a restricted mouth opening resulting from congenital oral synechia due to membranous adhesion between the free margin of the cleft palate and the floor of the mouth, lateral to the tongue on the left side. The cleft was of secondary palate with intact premaxilla. There were no other abnormalities found in the patient. No obvious auricular or nasal deformities were appreciated. Digits and extremities appeared normal, as did genitalia. Examination of the heart revealed no abnormalities.\nThe congenital oral synechia appeared as a thin membrane with a broad attachment at the floor of the mouth measuring approximately 2 cm in anteroposterior width. At the palatal margin the attachment narrowed to about 0.5 cm []. The membranous adhesion was pale pink in color and appeared to be avascular.\nThe infant faced feeding problems due to the restricted mouth opening, and therefore an immediate surgical excision of the synechia was decided on. Feeding was done using an infant feeding tube till anesthetic clearance was obtained for the procedure. At 1 week after birth, the congenital synechia was excised under sedation uneventfully restoring adequate mouth opening and allowing normal feeding []. A surgical closure of the cleft palate is planned for a later date.