Laryngeal cleft: report of eight patients and a review of the literature.

Eight cases of laryngeal cleft are presented and the literature on this topic is reviewed. Patients most frequently present with stridor, respiratory distress, or a history of choking while feeding. A number of cases are found at autopsy or surgery. Laryngeal cleft frequently is found associated nonspecifically with tracheoesophageal fistula, cleft lip and cleft palate, and congenital heart defects. Laryngeal cleft may be a component manifestation of several syndromes, eg, the G syndrome, and the Pallister-Hall syndrome of congenital hypothalamic hamartoblastoma, hypopituitarism, imperforate anus, and postaxial polydactyly. Surgical treatment is successful in more than 50% of the reported cases, depending on the extent of the cleft. Cleft larynx is most likely a developmental field defect, occurring coincidentally with separation of larynx and esophagus and closure of the larynx.