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

Jin, Se Jin; Lee, Jeong Heon; Kim, Sung Ug; Kim, Sun Young; Kim, Eun Kyoung; Jeong, Young Ju

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2008;51(6):670-675.
Published online June 1, 2008.

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

Se Jin Jin, Jeong Heon Lee, Sung Ug Kim, Sun Young Kim, Eun Kyoung Kim, Young Ju Jeong

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Korea. jh.lee@chonbuk.ac.kr

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.

Key Words: Branchial cleft cyst, Prenatal, Differential diagnosis