Parathyroid cyst: the forgotten diagnosis of a neck mass

Abstract

The differential diagnosis of cystic cervical masses includes cystic thyroid disease or some embryological diseases. Parathyroid cyst is one of the less common causes of the cervical masses. The Swedish anatomist Sandstrom reported the first description of parathyroid cyst in 1880. Up to date, only about 300 cases have been reported in the world literature. They may be functional or nonfunctional, depending on the presence or absence of the hyperparathyroidism and treatment options vary for both presentations. Particularly, nonfunctional cysts are often considered as thyroid cysts. Diagnosis is best made by monitoring serum calcium levels and sending cyst fluid for parathormone analysis.We herein report a patient diagnosed with a parathyroid cyst who had received the diagnosis of goitre at other institute; including a review of the literature.

Non-functional parathyroid cyst masquerading as a thyroid cyst: Report of two cases and review of the literature

“…First described by Swedish anatomist Ivar Sandstr€ om in 1880, only around 300 cases have been reported in the medical literature to date [5]. They tend to occur in the fourth and fifth decade of life with a female to male ratio of 2.5:1 [6].…”

An Unusual Cystic Lesion, Parathyroid Cyst

“…They are commonly found in the left inferior parathyroid gland region. [3,5,7] In general they are asymptomatic; however, there may be swelling at the neck, dysphagia, odynophagia and hoarseness associated with recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis due to the site of involvement, size and compression of the adjacent structures. Rarely, cysts located in the mediastinum may cause respiratory system symptoms.…”

“…[2,7] Treatment strategy varies according to the size and functionality of the cysts and the presence of compression symptoms. [3,8] The clinical importance of these cysts is the diagnostic difficulty. They may easily go unnoticed during examination.…”

“…Thyroid pathologies and other cystic mass lesions developing in that region such as thymic cyst, thyroglossal cyst, branchial cleft cyst, parathyroid adenoma and parathyroid carcinoma are conditions that should be discriminated. [3,7] We reported, a case interpreted as euthyroid thyroid cyst in the radiological examination, and was diagnosed as non-functional PC in histopathological examination after surgical resection. Along with the literature review on the subject, we aimed to increase the diagnostic awareness about parathyroid cysts among masses located at the cervical region.…”

Parathyroid cysts: the Latin-American experience

“…The first description of a parathyroid cyst and parathyroid gland in humans was done in 1880 by the Swedish anatomist Ivar Sandström (16)(17)(18), but only in 1905 the first surgical resection was performed by Goris (19) and several years later, Crile in 1953 become the first to diagnose a parathyroid cyst by fine needle aspiration (20). More than 300 hundred cases have been reported since those early studies (3).…”