Effective Role of Oral Sildenafil in the Treatment of Cystic Hygroma in an Infant: A Case Report

Cystic hygroma is a benign congenital malformation of the lymphatic system. Most cystic hygromas are found in the neck; rarer locations include the axilla, mediastinum, and limbs. Symptoms range from incidental findings to significant morbidity due to compression of adjacent organs, infection, haemorrhage, etc. Treatment is primarily aimed at complete surgical resection. Other treatment modalities include sclerotherapy, radiotherapy, laser ablation, and medical therapy with sirolimus, but recurrence rates are high. Surgery is not always possible since Lymphatic Malformations (LMs) can be intertwined within muscles or organs, and incomplete resection of LMs can result in recurrence; hence, alternative therapies have been explored. Recently, authors reported a case of a full-term female infant with a left-sided cystic hygroma. There was marked regression of the cystic hygroma with oral sildenafil, a selective inhibitor of phosphodiesterase-5.