A Case of Fourth Branchial Cleft Cyst

Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology 2005;21(1):53-56.
Published online May 30, 2005.

Il Seok Park;Jai Hyuk Chang

제 4 새성 기형 1예

박일석;장재혁

Abstract

The branchial anomaly is a lateral neck mass commonly seen by otolaryngologists. Depending on its anatomic location, branchial anomaly can be classified into first, second, third and fourth. The fourth branchial cleft anomaly is very rare entity and until now, only 35cases have been reported worldwide. It may present as neck cyst, recurrent neck abscess, thyroiditis. Combined with barium swallow esophagogram and computed tomography scan can aid in diagnosis of this rare disease entity. Complete excision of the entire epithelial tract combined with ipsilateral thyroid lobectomy remains the mainstay of treatment. Authors experienced a case of lateral neck mass which was anatomically presumed to be the fourth branchial cleft cyst. We report this case with the related literature.

Key Words: Branchial cleft cyst, Branchial arch