What is Laryngomalacia?

 

What is Laryngomalacia?

Laryngomalacia, or “floppy voice box,” is an infantile condition where the larynx (voice box) does not fully develop which causes the immature cartilage of the upper larynx to collapse upon inhalation.

LM results in partial airway obstruction, typically causing a specific high-pitched squeaking noise upon inhalation, which is referred to as stridor. This ultimately causes an airway obstruction which is the reason for the cyanosis.  The part above the vocal cords called the supraglottic larynx is tightly curled, with a short band holding the epiglottis, cartilage shield in the front, tightly to the mobile cartilage in the back of the larynx, or the arytenoids.

These bands are known as the aryepiglottic folds which create the precise movement that opens and closes the vocal cords for phonation, or sound. The shortened aryepiglottic folds cause the epiglottis to be curled on itself. This is known as "omega shaped" epiglottis in laryngomalacia. Some infants have feeding difficulties related to this problem.

Rarely, children will have significant life threatening airway obstruction. The vast majority, however, will only have stridor without other more serious symptoms.

Time is the most common treatment in more than 99% of infant cases. In more severe cases, surgery may be necessary. A supraglottoplasty involves cutting the aryepiglottic folds to let the supraglottic airway spring open. Treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, can also help in the treatment of laryngomalacia. GERD treatment is effective because gastric contents can cause the back part of the larynx to swell and collapse even further into the airway. In some very rare cases, a temporary tracheostomy may be necessary to maintain an airway to give the child time to grow.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What are the Differences Between Allergies and A Cold?

Image
  While allergy symptoms may seem very similar to cold symptoms there are several things that can help an individual determine what may be the cause of their symptoms. Allergies typically cause chronic symptoms while cold symptoms are more acute. A cold can affect a person for 7-10 days while allergies can affect an individual seasonally or chronically through out the year. Cold symptoms are caused by a viral infection. Symptoms typically present asrunny or stuffy nose, sore throat, cough, congestion, slight body aches, mild headache, sneezing, and a low-grade fever. As the cold is caused by a virus, antibiotics will not typically improve symptoms. Over the counter cold and flu medications will help treat the symptoms while the infection runs its course. Allergies occur when your immune system identifies a particular allergen as harmful even though it isn’t. Your immune system reaction can inflame your skin, sinuses, airways, or digestive system. Allergy testing includes environme...
Read more

Does My Child Have Speech Delays? How Can an ENT Help?

Image
  Speech delays are very common amongst young children and have many different contributing factors. Many parents will express their concerns to their pediatrician, who will first assess the clarity and number of words in the child’s vocabulary. There are different benchmarks for each stage of development and your pediatrician advise if your child is within normal limits. There are many different contributing factors to speech delays in children, including but not limited to: Bilingual upbringing Hearing Loss Comprehension Audtiory Processing So how can an ENT help? An ENT will likely first rule out hearing loss as the culprit by ordering a complete audiogram. Audiograms are done by an audiologist that is trained to test children with appropriate methods for their age. If the results show a hearing loss of significant degree that would cause speech delays , an ENT may order additional testing, such as a CT or MRI to rule out anatomical issues. Additionally, fluid build up may decre...
Read more

How do Cochlear Implants Work?

Image
  Cochlear implants bypass damaged hair cells and convert speech and environmental sounds into electrical signals and send these signals to the hearing nerve. The implant consists of a small electronic device, which is surgically implanted under the skin behind the ear and an external speech processor, which is usually worn on a belt or in a pocket. A microphone is also worn outside the body as a headpiece behind the ear to capture incoming sound. The speech processor translates the sound into distictive electrical signals. These 'codes' travel up a thin cable to the headpiece and are transmitted across the skin via radio waves to the implanted electrodes in the cochlea. The electrodes’ signals stimulate the auditory nerve fibers to send information to the brain where it is interpreted as meaningful sound. Cochlear implant benefits Implants are designed only for individuals who attain almost no benefit from a hearing aid. They must be 12 months of age or older (unless childhoo...
Read more