Cystic Tumors of the Neck

Subcutaneous bronchogenic cyst: unusual unltrasonographic findings.

“…Cervical or subcutaneous bronchogenic cysts are usually noted in the suprasternal notch or supraclavicular area. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Bronchogenic cysts in the posterior triangle, as in our case, are extremely rare. 10 It is not clear why these cysts reach their aberrant position.…”

“…10 It is not clear why these cysts reach their aberrant position. 1,2 It is speculated that bronchogenic cysts develop from abnormal budding of the primitive tracheobronchial tree during embryogenesis. If this abnormal bud were pinched off from the primitive tracheobronchial tree, the cyst would develop in the area where the pinching off occurred or at some distance from the tracheobronchial tree if the pinched-off bud migrated.…”

“…If this abnormal bud were pinched off from the primitive tracheobronchial tree, the cyst would develop in the area where the pinching off occurred or at some distance from the tracheobronchial tree if the pinched-off bud migrated. 1,2 Bronchogenic cysts are most frequently unilocular or multilocular cystic lesions. They are typically lined with pseudostratified, ciliated columnar epithelium and often contain smooth muscle, elastic fibers, cartilage, or seromucous glands.…”

“…Cystic lesions in the neck include cervical lymphadenopathy, epidermal inclusion cysts, hematomas, neurogenic tumors, dermoid cysts, thyroglossal duct cysts, bronchogenic cysts, ectopic cysts of thymic origin, cystic hygromas, branchial cleft cysts, and cutaneous ciliated cysts. 1,3,4,8 They have varying echogenicity and locations on ultrasonography; therefore, the echogenic foci within a bronchogenic cyst may have been reported for other cystic masses, such as an epidermal inclusion cyst, which may suggest a complicated cyst. When the finding of a complicated cystic lesion is shown on musculoskeletal or neck ultrasonography, the possibil-ity of a subcutaneous bronchogenic cyst should be considered, although the incidence is rare.…”

“…1-9 Cervical and subcutaneous bronchogenic cysts are rare. [1][2][3][4][5][6] We recently encountered a subcutaneous bronchogenic cyst in the posterior triangle of the neck. On computed tomography (CT), the bronchogenic cyst appeared as a nonspecific cystic lesion in the subcutaneous fat layer.…”