No major complications occurred, but patients with lymphatic malformations did significantly worse than the other groups. Olbrisch reported his results with tongue reduction in 300 patients with Down Syndrome. The complications were minor, with two patients experiencing minor bleeding postoperatively. Macroglossia results from a variety of disorders, and may affect cosmetics and function. The main treatment is partial glossectomy, but the initial treatment should be conservative.
Successful treatment require appropriate rehabilitation and long term follow up.
The patient was noted, shortly after birth, to have an extensive lymphatic malformation of the left neck, tongue and epiglottis. She was otherwise healthy, with no airway or feeding problems. At 10 months she underwent excision of the lymphatic malformation of the neck. She tolerated the procedure well and recovered uneventfully. Although there were no functional problems, her tongue was thickened and protruded from her mouth.