Epignathus is a rare congenital orofacial teratoma that arises from the sphenoid region of the palate or the pharynx. It occurs in approximately 1:35,000 to 1:200,000 live births representing 2% to 9% of all teratomas. We present the case of a newborn of 39.4 weeks of gestation with a tumor that occupied the entire oral cavity. The patient was delivered by cesarean section. Oral resection was managed by pediatric surgery. Plastic surgery used virtual 3-dimensional models to establish the extension, and depth of the tumor. Bloc resection and reconstruction of the epignathus were performed. The mass was diagnosed as a mature teratoma associated with cleft lip and palate, nasoethmoidal meningocele that conditions hypertelorism, and a pseudomacrostoma. Tridimensional technology was applied to plan the surgical intervention. It contributed to a better understanding of the relationships between the tumor and the adjacent structures. This optimized the surgical approach and outcome.
In the historical pursuit of soft tissue augmentation, fat has seemed a natural choice for plastic surgeons. The use of fat transfer to replace volume or camouflage soft tissues is an increasingly popular method in craniofacial surgery and facial esthetics. Craniofacial malformations undoubtedly have a certain psychosocial effect. Children of early age are particularly vulnerable to comments, teasing, and harassment related to their appearance; therefore, improving the facial image is of great importance. We believe that volumetric lipoinjection represents an excellent alternative to obtain greater facial esthetic harmony, which directly increases patient self-esteem in children and adults.
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