Public Health and Primary CareCase Report

Pierre Robin Sequence in a Neonate With Suckling Difficulty and Weight Loss

Jeffery Summers, OMS IV; Jacob Ludwig, OMS IV; and David Kanze, DO
Notes and Affiliations
Notes and Affiliations

Received: October 22, 2013

Accepted: April 22, 2014

Published: September 1, 2014

J Osteopath Med; 114(9): 727-731
Abstract

Pierre Robin sequence (PRS) is a combination of micrognathia and glossoptosis that leads to airway obstruction, feeding problems, and potentially other sequelae that can complicate early life. Currently, therapy for these newborns and infants is focused on preventing fatality or complications until the jaw can grow sufficiently to correct airway obstruction and associated problems. For patients with mild PRS, treatments include conservative measures such as airway maintenance and a feeding tube. For more severe cases, a surgical procedure is necessary. To the authors’ knowledge, the effectiveness of osteopathic manipulative treatment of patients with PRS has not been reported in the literature. The current case describes the use of osteopathic manipulative treatment to help alleviate difficulties with breathing and latch and suckling in a 15-day-old newborn with PRS.

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