title: Common lumps and bumps of the head and neck in infants and children.
abstract: The majority of lesions in the neck of children will prove to be benign and of congenital origin arising from such structures as the thyroglossal duct and the branchial clefts in addition to hemangiomas and lymphangiomas. However, it is essential that lymphadenopathy be proven infectious and any asymptomatic lymph node enlargement must be considered Hodgkin's disease until proven otherwise. The occasional neuroblastoma or rhabdomyosarcoma presenting in the neck can usually be identified as solid by sonography, leading to early investigation and biopsy. Because of the abundance of important structures that course through the neck, surgery should be conducted in an operating suite with sophisticated, modern anesthetic techniques and with a surgeon experienced in dealing with the full array of lesions that occur.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Surgery Service, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710.
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Filston
mesh_terms: D001935:Branchioma; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D006391:Hemangioma; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008206:Lymphatic Diseases; D008223:Lymphoma; D013955:Thyroglossal Cyst