[Cervical thymic cysts. A clinical case report].
The presence of thymic residues in a laterocervical site is very rare, as is cystic degeneration. The paper reports the case of a six-year-old boy who presented a swelling in a left laterocervical site; preoperative tests (especially echography and fine needle aspiration) identified the cystic nature of the swelling which was then confirmed intraoperatively; histological test diagnosed a thymic cyst. The paper analyses the embryological, anatomopathological and clinical aspects of these formations and underlines the difficulty of making a differential diagnosis from other neck pathologies, especially branchial cysts. In conclusion, preoperative tests can only determine the cystic component but not the thymic origin of these formations which can only be confirmed by final histological tests.
Lualdi
M
M
U.O. di Chirurgia Generale, USSL 8 Lombardia, Ospedale di Busto Arsizio, Varese.
Salatino
G
G
Scandroglio
I
I
Tosi
F
F
D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008476:Mediastinal Cyst / Q000196:embryology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008482:Mediastinum / Q000196:embryology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery
Le cisti timiche cervicali. Presentazione di un caso clinico.