Case Report: CT diagnosis of thymic remnant cyst/thymopharyngeal duct cyst

Abstract

A 4-year-old boy presented with history of left anterolateral neck swelling since birth. He was clinically diagnosed to have a branchial cleft cyst. A CT scan revealed findings suggestive of a thymic remnant cyst. The lesion was excised and the diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology.

Keywords

CT - neck swelling - thymic remnant cyst

• References

• 1 Som P. Paediatric head and neck imaging. In: Som P, editor. CT and MR imaging of head and neck. London: Churchill Livingstone; 2004. p. 1832-8.
• 2 Reiner M, Beck AR. Cervical thymic cysts in children. Am J Surg 1980;139:704-7.
• 3 Nguyen Q, deTar M, Wells W, Crockett D. Cervical thymic cyst: Case reports and review of the literature. Laryngoscope 1996;106:247-52.
• 4 Jones JE, Hession B. Cervical thymic cysts. Ear Nose Throat J 1996;76:678-80.
• 5 Kelley DJ, Gerber ME, Willging JP. Cervicomediastinal thymic cysts. Int J Pediatir Otorhinolaryngol 1997;39:139 -6.
• 6 Ellis H. Cervical thymic cysts. Br J Surg 1967;54:17-22.
• 7 Egelhoff JC. Paediatric head and neck imaging. In: John R. Haaga, CF Lanzieri, RC Gilkeson, editors. CT and MR imaging of the whole body. Missouri: Mosby; 2003. p. 695-6.