title: Thyroglossal duct cysts: evaluation and treatment of 49 cases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical features and treatment outcomes of patients with a thyroglossal duct cyst (TGDC) or fistula.
  
  
  METHODS
  The records of 49 patients (9 female, 40 male; mean age: 23.16 +/- 1.13 years; range 6 to 56 years) operated on between January 1995 and July 2009 were reviewed retrospectively. Patient's age, sex, duration of symptoms, clinical features, pre-operative diagnostic tests, treatment, histopathologic diagnosis, and post-operative complications were noted. All patients underwent the Sistrunk procedure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifteen patients (30.6%) were < or = 20 years old, while 3 (6.1%) patients were 40 years old at the time of operation. There was cyst formation in 26 patients (53.1%) and fistula formation in 23 patients (46.9%). The lesions of 41 patients (83.7%) were located in the midline, while the lesions of 8 patients (16.3%) were located in the paramedian neck (5 left side, 3 right side). The most common presenting symptoms were painless mass in the midline of the neck and recurrent suppuration of fistula formation. Neck ultrasonography (USG) was the most common pre-operative diagnostic procedure and was performed on all patients with cyst formations. There were no major complications postoperatively. There was recurrence in only one patient after the Sistrunk procedure. One patient was incidentally diagnosed with thyroid papillary carcinoma after histopathological examination.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A TGDC is the most common congenital mass in the neck and is usually located midline. USG is suggested for a clinically suspected TGDC. The Sistrunk procedure is a safe and successful technique with low complication and recurrence rates. Even though carcinomas arising in TGDCs are uncommon, histopathological examination must be routinely performed to confirm the diagnosis and rule out malignancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey. hyaman1975@yahoo.com
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yaman
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Durmaz
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Arslan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ozcan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karahatay
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gerek
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013955:Thyroglossal Cyst / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D055815:Young Adult