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Teratomas of the head and neck are uncommon congenital lesions, which are rarely seen in the soft palate. We here reported a male neonate with a soft palate teratoma associated with soft palate cleft. The most common presenting symptom of oral teratoma is feeding problems. The tumour looks like a mushroom, and was successfully treated with surgery. Feeding returned to normal by removing the mass, and the patient is under follow up for selective operation of the cleft palate. This case is unique because teratoma in a mushroom shape was not reported before., (Copyright 2010 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Congenital teratoma is a rare malformation, and few papers have been published about it. We present a large teratoma that arose from the hard palate in a neonate. The obstructive mass caused maternal polyhydramnios and was identified prenatally by ultrasonography. The mother went into labour at 35 week's gestation at home. The child was in respiratory distress as a result of airway obstruction, and a tracheostomy was done when she was 4hours old. She also had major cardiac abnormalities. The palatal mass was removed successfully at 4 weeks of age. The typical components of a teratoma were identified including immature neural glial tissue.

Congenital tumors of the oral cavity are uncommon. Teratoid tumors account for most of the reported cases and are infrequently associated with a cleft of the soft palate. Of the remaining tumors associated with pediatric cleft palate, congenital lipoma is rare. Lipomas of the oral cavity may show cartilaginous or osseous changes. These changes have not been reported in lipoma associated with cleft palate. A rare case of congenital osteolipoma associated with cleft palate and showing osseous change is presented here. The pathogenesis of the lesion and the osseous metaplasia are described. The present case is the second case of congenital lipoma associated with cleft palate in the literature.