Unilateral patent nasopalatine duct: a case report and review of the literature

Rodrigues, Moacyr Tadeu Vicente; Munhoz, Etiene Andrade; Cardoso, Camila Lopes; Junior, Osny Ferreira; Damante, José Humberto

doi:10.1016/j.amjoto.2008.02.015

« Previous Next »American Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Medicine and Surgery
Volume 30, Issue 2 , Pages 137-140, March 2009

Unilateral patent nasopalatine duct: a case report and review of the literature

Moacyr Tadeu Vicente Rodrigues, DDS, MSc
- Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Brazil
Etiene Andrade Munhoz, DDS, MSc
- Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Brazil
- Corresponding author. Department of Oral Medicine, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Al. Dr. Otávio Pinheiro Brisolla 9-75, 17.012-901, Bauru, São Paulo, Brasil. Tel.: +55 14 3234 8254; fax: +55 14 3234 8254.
Camila Lopes Cardoso, DDS
- Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Brazil
Osny Ferreira Junior, DDS, PhD
- Department of Stomatology, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Brazil
José Humberto Damante, DDS, PhD
- Department of Stomatology, Bauru School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Brazil

Received 3 December 2007 published online 24 July 2008.

Abstract

A 15-year-old white female sought our institution complaining of a chirping noise during speech and swallowing. The noise was spontaneous, perceptible, and enhanced when hard suction on the anterior palate was performed. The patient reported no trauma, infection, or other clinical feature related to the noise. Clinical examination showed 2 small grooves on both sides of the midline, lateral to the incisive papilla. The left groove was visually deeper. Careful probing with a gutta-percha cone revealed the existence of a communication on this side extending from the mouth to the nasal cavity, which was confirmed clinically and radiographically. Probing was not possible on the right side. The diagnosis was unilateral patent nasopalatine duct, which was surgically treated. We report here a new case of patent nasopalatine duct and also present a review of the pertinent literature.