title: Giant epidermal cyst in the posterior neck developing over 40 years: A case report.
abstract: Conventional epidermal cysts are generally small, slow-growing, non-tender, dome-shaped lesions. An epidermal cyst is usually asymptomatic until it is infected or enlarged to the extent that it causes damage to adjacent anatomical structures. However, few cases of giant epidermal cysts in the neck have been reported. The present case reports a giant epidermal cyst in the posterior neck, which grew to an extremely large size for >40 years without inflammation or rupture, and was misdiagnosed as a large soft tissue neoplasm. The patient exhibited depression and developed social anxiety due to the negative cosmetic consequences of the large mass. The patient underwent excision of the mass. At the follow-up examination two years postoperatively, there were no local recurrence and the psychiatric symptoms of the patient were completely resolved. To the best of our knowledge, a giant epidermal cyst growing for >40 years has not previously been reported.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 561-756, Republic of Korea ; Research Institute of Clinical Medicine, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 561-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Won
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 561-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Kil
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Clinical Medicine, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 561-756, Republic of Korea ; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 561-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jung Ryul
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: cosmetic problem; giant epidermal cyst; posterior neck; psychiatric symptom