OBJECTIVE To assess the safety and efficacy of surgical excision of selected first branchial cleft cysts using electrophysiological rather than anatomical location of the facial nerve. DESIGN Retrospective review of consecutive surgical procedures by a single surgeon, using a consistent technique during a 9-year period. SETTING Tertiary pediatric medical center. PATIENTS Eleven children w...

Meningococcal disease, which is caused by Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis), may present clinically as meningococcemia, meningitis, or with a mixed picture. A 3-year-old girl was admitted to our hospital tender, immobile, hard, hot and erythematous mass measuring 3x4 cm on the left anterior part of neck. The patient diagnosed branchial cleft cyst in side neck regularly followed an otolar...

BACKGROUND Branchial cleft anomalies constitute a frequently encountered and commonly non-lethal disease in otolaryngology, and result from aberrant embryonic development. The third branchial cleft fistula is one of the four known specific types of branchial cleft anomalies, and always presents as recurrent neck abscess and suppurative thyroiditis. Here, we report an unexpected death due to sev...

The term "ranula" is used to describe a diffuse swelling in the floor of the mouth caused by either a mucous extravasation or, less commonly, a mucous retention cyst derived from the major sublingual or submandibular salivary glands. The most common presentation of ranula is a painless, slow-growing, soft, and movable mass located in the floor of the mouth. Ranula may be simple or plunging. Sim...

OBJECTIVE This study describes the presentation of first branchial cleft anomalies and compares outcomes of first branchial cleft with other branchial cleft anomalies with attention to otologic findings. STUDY DESIGN Case series with chart review. SETTING Pediatric tertiary care facility. METHODS Surgical databases were queried to identify children with branchial cleft anomalies. Descript...

The author describes the case of a 10-year-old boy presenting with lateral cervical swelling. A branchial cyst was finally diagnosed.

Congenital anomalies of the first branchial cleft are rare. Approximately 32 cases of cervicoauricular fistulae have been reported in the past hundred years: this includes the writer's own case in this review. The majority of sinuses and fistulae derived from the lateral cervical vestiges are concerned with the second pharyngeal pouch and its corresponding cleft. Auricular and pre-auricular fis...