[Frey's syndrome: report of three cases with two distinct etiopathogeneses]

Frey's syndrome is characterized by recurrent episodes of facial gustatory flushing and sweating (most frequent in adults) limited to the cutaneous distribution of the auriculotemporal nerve which, when injured, shows abnormal regeneration. The condition is relatively common in adults following nerve injury in parotid surgery but has rarely been reported in children as a sequel of perinatal birth trauma resulting from forceps assisted delivery. We report three patients with the same syndrome and two different causes. Two children had a history of forceps assisted delivery and one adolescent had undergone preauricular lymphadenectomy. This syndrome, which has more often been described by allergists and maxillofacial surgeons than by pediatricians, may pose problems of differential diagnosis with food allergy, leading to unnecessary exclusion diets. In the pediatric age group, Frey's syndrome is self limiting and does not require therapy if the diagnosis is correct.