Isolated aglossia in a six year old child presenting with impaired speech: a case report

Abstract

IntroductionThe most mobile organ of the body, the tongue is associated with various congenital anomalies; most of which are in association with many other systemic abnormalities. Rarely do they occur in isolation. Isolated aglossia, that we presented, is one of the more rare presentations.Case presentationOur patient is a 6-year-old male child of Asiatic origin from Kashmir (India), who was physically well built and mentally sound and presented with history of impaired speech. The patient had normal velopharangeal competence but absence of tongue which was replaced by a small mucus membrane projection near the floor of oropharangeal isthmus. The patient had no difficulty in feeding or taste sensation but he was unable to pronounce lingual consonants.ConclusionIsolated aglossia is very rare condition explained on the basis of growth failure of lateral lingual swellings and tubercular impar. Such patients do not usually need reconstruction of tongue; as feeding, swallowing and taste sensations are usually intact and speech cannot be improved by reconstruction. However, malocclusion of teeth needs to be taken care of.

Isolated aglossia congenita: A rare case of oromandibular limb hypogenesis syndrome type I B

“…[8] Surgical reconstruction of the tongue is not a priority as the patients show functional adaptation to most functions except speech. [5] Speech therapy is required in early stages as most of the times speech is delayed and slurred. Correction of malocclusion and jaw anomalies would require orthodontic and surgical treatment.…”

Aglossia: Case Report

“… 4 Few cases were reported about aglossia not related to other alterations. However, this study, like two other studies, 6 8 describes the case of isolated aglossia, because it was not possible to relate the case to some syndrome already described in the literature. In all reported cases, individuals showed alteration mainly in speech.…”

“…It works mainly as an oral arch stabilizer and molder, and in the tongue's absence, the mandibular dental arch becomes atresic. 6 7 The first case of aglossia was reported in the eighteenth century, after which different cases were described in literature relating aglossia to important hand anomalies. 4 Few cases were reported about aglossia not related to other alterations.…”

A Child With Congenital Aglossia: A Narrative Review and Descriptive Case Study

“…The fricative phonemes /s/ and /z/ also became clearer, but distortions in the articulation of the phonemes /f/ remained. (p. 46) The next example of a CwCA is found in Rasool et al (2009) with a brief description of the speech of a 6-year-old male who, according to the article, demonstrated difficulty pronouncing lingual consonants.…”