[Congenital macroglossia: clinical features and therapeutic strategies in paediatric patients]

Congenital macroglossia is a condition that consists in an enlarged tongue that in resting position protrudes beyond the alveolar ridge. It has been classified in two categories: true macroglossia, which occurs in congenital or acquired forms, and relative macroglossia. As this alteration may be due to different causes, its incidence is not known. It is more frequently associated to Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, to mucopolysaccharidosis diseases and to Pompe's disease, and it has been less frequently associated to lymphangioma, hemangioma or isolated muscular hypertrophy. Macroglossia is characterized by an enlarged and thick tongue that may have fissures and ulcers, may cause language alterations, difficulties for feeding and swallowing, sialorrhea and recurrent infections of the upper airway or even its obstruction. Its clinical evaluation must include a complete clinical chart with careful physical exploration and a pedigree of that may identify the presence or absence of a hereditary associated syndrome. Macroglossia management is complex. More than twenty different surgical options to reduce the tongue size have been proposed, however, so far there is not a general agreement in this respect. The objective of this work is to review clinical and surgical aspects related to macroglossia from the point of view of non-surgical pediatricians and genetists, addressed to the different medical specialists, including the maxillofacial surgeons involved in the management of these patients.