Stridor presenting soon after birth due to bilateral abductor vocal cord paralysis (VCP) is rare. We report a family with bilateral VCP affecting four male members in two generations and hence suggesting X-linked recessive inheritance. Severe stridor in the neonatal period requires meticulous airway evaluation, and tracheostomy in 35–70% cases. The current trend is towards conservative management and tracheostomy is avoided unless respiratory distress is severe or life-threatening. Neonatal VCP can be an isolated finding, or it can be familial with or without syndromic features. There are very few reports of non-syndromic familial cases. Unlike the cases reported previously, none of our patients required prolonged intubation or tracheostomy suggesting an excellent prognosis in such cases. This is the first case study of congenital familial non-syndromic VCP reported from the Middle East.

Stridor presenting soon after birth due to bilateral abductor vocal cord paralysis (VCP) is rare. We report a family with bilateral VCP affecting four male members in two generations and hence suggesting X-linked recessive inheritance. Severe stridor in the neonatal period requires meticulous air...