Korean J Obstet Gynecol.  2008 Jun;51(6):670-675.

A huge branchial cleft cyst detected prenatally: Differential diagnosis from other neck cystic lesions

• Jin SJ
• Lee JH
• Kim SU
• Kim SY
• Kim EK
• Jeong YJ

Abstract

Though branchial cleft cysts (BCC) are common cause of congenital cyst formation in the neck, the prenatal cases have been reported very rarely. We discovered fetal neck cyst at 32 weeks of gestation and eventually diagnosed it as BCC by postnatal surgical excision and histologic findings. It is hard to establish differential diagnosis of BCC from other congenital neck cysts on fetal ultrasonography. The anatomic locations and clinical features of each cystic lesions are important to diagnose accurately and then to achieve complete surgical excision for recurrence-free treatment. We present a case of a BCC detected prenatally and survey the points of differential diagnosis of a BCC from other neck cystic lesions on fetal ultrasonography.

Keyword

Branchial cleft cyst; Prenatal; Differential diagnosis

MeSH Terms

Branchial Region
Branchioma
Diagnosis, Differential
Neck
Pregnancy
Ultrasonography, Prenatal