Imaging of Pediatric Neck Masses

Pediatric neck masses comprise a wide spectrum of entities, benign and malignant. The role of imaging is to characterize these lesions, in order to better determine which can be expectantly managed and which require immediate intervention. An important consideration in the pediatric population is ionizing radiation; while X-ray and CT can be useful, radiation can have harmful effects, particularly in children. In this article, we review imaging feature of common pediatric neck masses, with emphasis on radiation sparing modalities (ultrasound and MRI) when possible.