[Cervico-facial heterotopic brain tissue with a mandibular deformity]

Case report of a premature baby girl who presented with a right cervico-facial mass which caused severe respiratory difficulty. The patient underwent subtotal resection of the mass whose pathologic specimen report revealed heterotopic cerebral tissue compatible with encephalocele. A head and neck CT Scan performed could not evidence a connection between the mass and the cranial cavity, reason for which the possibility of encephalocele was disregarded. After subtotal resection of the mass, the tumor began to grow from soft palate and the patient died from respiratory complications at four months of age. Autopsy reported heterotopic cerebral tissue from neck and soft palate; right lung pneumonia and infection by CMV. Although the heterotopic cerebral tissue was reported as benign, the clinical characterization of this mass is compatible with a malignant behavior due to the aggressiveness of its growth.