Recurrences after thyroglossal duct cyst surgery: Results in 207 consecutive cases and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND A thyroglossal duct cyst is the most common form of congenital anomaly in the neck. Surgical removal is very effective. However, in some cases, a cyst recurs. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that predispose to recurrence of a thyroglossal duct cyst. METHODS A retrospective study was conducted of consecutive patients who underwent surgical resection for histologically confirmed thyroglossal duct cysts between 1998 and 2013 in a tertiary referral center. RESULTS Two hundred seven patients were included. The overall recurrence rate was 9.7%. The most important factor predicting recurrence was the type of resection: recurrence rate was 5.3% after the Sistrunk procedure, and 55.6% after plain excision (p < .001). The only other factor that was significantly associated with chance of recurrence was postoperative infection. CONCLUSION The Sistrunk procedure is the treatment of choice for thyroglossal duct cysts because it yields low recurrence and morbidity. Postoperative infections, rather than preoperative infections, are associated with recurrence.