Ortner's syndrome as a presenting feature of congenital heart disease in infants

Ortner's syndrome is a rare condition characterized by hoarseness of voice due to left recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy in association with cardiovascular disease. We report two cases of congenital heart disease in infants presenting with Ortner's syndrome. We believe that the dilated pulmonary artery in the first case and the left atrial dilatation in the second case caused compression of the left RLN resulting in hoarseness of voice. After the corrective cardiac surgery, the voice of both the infants had normalized. Through this case report, we highlight that Ortner's syndrome is an important differential diagnosis of hoarseness of voice in infancy.