title: Cystic hygroma: characterization by computerized tomography.
abstract: Lymphangiomas are benign nonencapsulated lesions composed of sequestered noncommunicating lymphoid tissue lined by lymphatic endothelium and are thought to be caused by congenital obstruction of lymphatic drainage. They are subclassified by vessel size, such as the capillary, which is rare and located in subcutaneous tissue, cavernous (located about the mouth and tongue), and cystic (cystic hygromas). The cystic hygromas show a predilection for the neck (75%) and maxilla (20%), and the remaining 5% arise in rare locations such as the mediastinum, retroperitoneum, bone, kidney, colon, liver, spleen and scrotum. Only 3%-10% of neck lesions extend into the mediastinum. In this paper, we report a rare case of cystic hygroma with a huge dimension discussing the use of computed tomography scanning for diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Energetic and Nuclear Research/National Committee of Nuclear Energy, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. rcmosca@usp.br
authors.forename: Rodrigo Crespo
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Mosca
authors.forename: Gisele Adriano
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mantesso
mesh_terms: D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018191:Lymphangioma, Cystic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D009333:Neck / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010610:Pharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed