title: Tracheal hamartoma: report of a child with a neck mass.
abstract: Tracheal hamartoma represents an oddity in children. Only one case was found in the English literature as a distal tracheal intraluminal lesion causing obstructive symptoms. All other reported cases were in older patients, who were presumed to have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The authors report on a 21-month-old girl who presented with an anterior neck mass fixed to the trachea. Imaging studies showed a lesion (2.5 x 2.3 x 1.7 cm) anterior to the right lobe of the thyroid, extending to the trachea posteriorly and down to the thoracic inlet inferiorly. The mass had a mixture of soft tissue densities with a focus of calcification. Results of thyroid studies were normal, and there was no adenopathy. Neck exploration showed a white, firm, lobulated mass fixed to the trachea, which was resected completely. The postoperative course was unremarkable. Histological studies showed a mixture of mature cartilage, fat, fibroconnective tissue, and spindle cells with myxoid degeneration, consistent with tracheal hamartoma. Based on a literature search, this is the first reported case of extraluminal tracheal hamartoma presenting as a neck mass in a pediatric patient.
authors.affiliation: Section of Pediatric Surgery, LeBonheur Children's Hospital, University of Tennessee, Memphis, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Hollabaugh
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Joyner
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006222:Hamartoma / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D014133:Tracheal Diseases / Q000473:pathology*