J Korean Soc Plast Reconstr Surg.  2003 Jan;30(1):75-78.

A Clinical Experience of First Branchial Cleft Anomaly

• Kang HD
• Moon JH
• Lee NH
• Yang KM

Abstract

First branchial cleft anomalies are a special group of congenital malformations of the head and neck. The incidence of these lesion is very low, fewer than 10% of all branchial cleft anomalies. This anomaly develops as a result of incomplete fusion of the cleft between the first and second branchial arch. The time when appear clinical symptom has a wide range between the birth and adult, the symptoms occur in the preauricular and cervical region located above a horizontal plane passing through the hyoid bone. The initial symptoms of branchial cleft anomaly was palpable & movable mass, discharge from fistula, no touch pain, and then they are usually associated with infection. Because of difficulty in diagnosis, the inadequate management leads to have recurrence and iatrogenic injury of facial nerve. We have experienced a case of first branchial cleft anomaly that the symptom unusually appear on right cheek in a 27-years-old male patient and so report with the result of surgical extirpation and some reviews of the literatures.

Keyword

First branchial cleft anomaly

MeSH Terms

Adult
Branchial Region*
Cheek
Diagnosis
Facial Nerve
Fistula
Head
Humans
Hyoid Bone
Incidence
Male
Neck
Parturition
Recurrence