title: Thymopharyngeal duct cyst: a case presentation and literature review.
abstract: The differential diagnosis of a lateral cystic neck mass includes branchial cleft cysts and lymphangiomas. Cervical thymic cysts are rare, and thymopharyngeal duct cysts, which maintain a connection to the pharynx, are rarer still. We present an interesting case of a 6 year-old male who developed acute onset of a left-sided neck mass. CT and MRI findings revealed a multiloculated cyst closely associated with the left lobe of the thyroid gland with a tract extending up along the carotid sheath to the pyriform sinus. Complete surgical excision was performed. The anatomic location and pathology were consistent with a thymopharyngeal duct cyst. The embryology, clinical presentation, radiologic and pathologic findings, and surgical management of thymopharyngeal duct cysts will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA.
authors.forename: Arjuna B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Kuperan
authors.forename: Huma A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Quraishi
authors.forename: Anup J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Neena
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mirani
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003560:Cysts / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000196:embryology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010608:Pharyngeal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000196:embryology* / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed