title: Type II first branchial cleft anomaly.
abstract: First branchial cleft anomaly is a rare disease of the head and neck. It accounts for less than 8% of all branchial abnormalities. It is classified into type I, which is thought to arise from the duplication of the membranous external ear canal and are composed of ectoderm only, and type II that have ectoderm and mesoderm. Because of its rarity, first branchial cleft anomaly is often misdiagnosed and results in inappropriate management. A 9-year-old girl presented to us with fistula in the submandibular region and discharge in the external ear. Under general anesthesia, complete surgical excision of the fistula tract was done through step-ladder approach, and the histopathologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of type II first branchial cleft anomaly.
authors.affiliation: From the *Medical City Hospital; †Maxillofacial Arab Board Council; ‡Pathology Department, College of Medicine, Baghdad University; and §Institute of Forensic Medicine, Ministry of Health, Baghdad, Iraq.
authors.forename: Akmam H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Al-Mahdi
authors.forename: Luay E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Al-Khurri
authors.forename: Ghada Z
authors.initials: GZ
authors.lastname: Atto
authors.forename: Ameer
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dhaher
mesh_terms: D001934:Branchial Region / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D019465:Craniofacial Abnormalities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010608:Pharyngeal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed