Drainage post-thyroglossal duct remnant surgery: possible source and analysis.
OBJECTIVE
To establish the distance between tongue base salivary tissue and hyoid. Also, to identify protein differences between thyroglossal duct (TGD) remnants and salivary tissue in order to distinguish drainage source post Sistrunk surgery.


METHODS
The anterior neck block was obtained from 10 adult cadavers with no known neck pathology. The distance between the normal salivary tissue and hyoid was measured histologically. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was then performed on 20 archived tissue blocks from pediatric patients post Sistrunk surgery to identify the presence of amylase, MUC5AC (tracheobronchial mucin), and MUC7 (salivary mucin) within the excised specimen.


RESULTS
Average distance between salivary tissue and the hyoid within adult human cadavers was 3.3 mm (range, 1.0-4.2 mm). IHC revealed all excised TGD remnants contained amylase and MUC5AC but none contained MUC7. Both amylase and MUC7 were present within adjacent salivary tissues.


CONCLUSIONS
Salivary tissue of the tongue base normally resides an average of 3.3 mm from the hyoid within the adult population. Biochemical analysis showed MUC5AC was specific for TGD remnants while MUC7 was specific for salivary tissue. Amylase does not distinguish between the two tissues.
Bakar
Saraiza Abu
SA
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Martinez-Alvernia
Efrain A
EA
Mankarious
Leila A
LA
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D006928:Hyoid Bone / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007223:Infant; D055271:Mucin 5AC / Q000378:metabolism; D009077:Mucins / Q000378:metabolism; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides / Q000378:metabolism; D013955:Thyroglossal Cyst / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery*; D000516:alpha-Amylases / Q000378:metabolism
C524678:MUC5AC protein, human; C083238:MUC7 protein, human; D055271:Mucin 5AC; D009077:Mucins; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides; D000516:alpha-Amylases