Cervical bronchogenic cyst: asymptomatic neck mass in an adult male

Abstract

Bronchogenic cysts are rare congenital malformations of ventral foregut development. They are usually located in the mediastinum and intrapulmonary regions. Localization in the cervical area is unusual and the majority of cases reported have been found in the pediatric population: the literature reports few cases in adults. We describe a 57-year-old male who presented an asymptomatic right lateral neck mass. Diagnostic studies included chest X-ray, pharyngo-esophagus double-contrast X-ray, computed tomography (CT), and bronchoscopy. The mass was excised through a transverse right cervical skin incision. The right lateral neck mass of the patient was identified as a bronchogenic cyst. The embryology, the presentation, the pathological and radiological evaluation, treatment of the cyst and a review of the English literature are reported in this paper. Cervical bronchogenic cysts are usually diagnosed in the pediatric population; these lesions are rare in adults. We suggest that the clinical observation of an asymptomatic lateral neck mass in an adult should include the possibility of a bronchogenic cyst in the differential diagnosis. Surgical excision is the elective treatment for this tumor, in order to prevent complications including infection, compression symptoms, malignant transformation, and the rare but fatal air embolism.

Intraspinal bronchogenic cyst: Series of case reports and literature review

“…When the duplication or separation of the notochord is incomplete, ectopic cysts are generated and present the characteristics of any part of the foregut. 4 It is difficult to diagnose spinal bronchogenic cyst before surgery and the final diagnosis depends on the pathological examination. A research confirmed that six cell types were identified, including ciliated cells, nonciliated cells, goblet cells, basal cells, Kulchisky's cells and undifferentiated cells, which were similar to the human bronchial epithelium of the upper respiratory tract.…”

“…Several case reports of SBCs suggested that the lesions enlarge slowly and lead to pain, numbness, weakness of limbs or back and even paralysis when they compress the nerve roots or spinal cord. [3][4][5][6][7][8] None of the complications secondary to ruptured cysts were reported, such as chemical meningitis, abscess formation, and hydrocephalus. It is difficult to make the correct diagnosis before surgery due to its extremely low morbidity and non-typical signs, symptoms and imaging findings.…”

Non-Communicating Bronchial Cyst Presenting as Cystic Thyroid Nodule

“…Needless to say that in case of malignant change, resection of the cyst by open procedure is probably a more oncologically acceptable operation [2,3]. The rare intraoperative complication of fatal air embolism has not been described in open surgery [4]. Yoshida et al reported a case with tracheal wall damage while performing sharp separation of the cystic wall from the trachea with thoracoscopic surgery [11].…”

“…They usually present on the right side of the neck and they are extremely rare in adults [1]. Its prophylactic excision leads to excellent outcome [2][3][4]. We present a case of a bronchial cyst that presented as a left lateral cervical mass mimicking cystic thyroid nodule in an adult.…”

Bronchogenic Cyst in the Liver Mimicking Metastasis of Colorectal Carcinoma: A Case Report and Review

“…in the lung parenchyma [15][16][17][18]. Besides these typical and well-known locations for BCs, review of literature reveals some other less common locations: BCs can be atypically located in the neck [20], in the skin [19] and in the pericardium [21]. Subdiaphragmatic locations are extremely rare: In some cases BCs are discovered in the retroperitoneum [22] and in the abdominal cavity [17].…”