ORAL MYIASIS IN RETT SYNDROME: A RARE ENTITY

Oral Myiasis is a rare disease caused by larvae of certain dipteran flies often associated with poor oral hygiene, alcoholism, senility, suppurating lesions and severe halitosis. Here we are presenting a case of parental negligence of a 15 year old mentally retarded girl with oral myiasis which on subsequent radiographic examination and clinical correlation was diagnosed to be a case of Rett syndrome. Rett syndrome is a neuro-developmental disorder that affects girls almost exclusively with initial normal development. These patients are often initially misdiagnosed as idiopathic mental retardation, cerebral palsy, or autism. Treatment consisted of manual removal of maggots, with the help of forceps and turpentine oil, surgical debridement of wound followed by broad-spectrum antibiotics. This case gives a glimpse of social stigma regarding undiagnosed mentally retarded children and parental negligence leading to such a miserable condition of the patient.