Congenital facial teratoma in a neonate: Surgical management and outcome

Teratomas are among the most common tumors of childhood, but craniofacial teratomas are rare. They can be diagnosed antenatally. Craniofacial teratomas may cause airway obstruction in the newborn. We present a case of a newborn male child who was diagnosed to have a facial tumor in the 8(th) month of gestation. He was delivered normally and had no respiratory or feeding difficulties. He was also found to have a cleft palate. Serum alpha fetoprotein levels were normal. He underwent excision on day of life 9. At 11 months follow-up, he is well with no evidence of recurrence and good functional outcome.