| Midline congenital neck mass is not a rare entity in children presenting to Otorhinolaryngology and Paediatric surgery
department, but nothing significant is mentioned in literature, especially in our country. This study is an attempt to
highlight the incidence of midline congenital neck masses and importance of early diagnosis and timely medical or surgical
intervention. Cross sectional retrospective study conducted at Department of Optholmology, Sree Balaji Medical College
and Hospital, Chrompet, Chennai Data of all children below the age of 18 years presenting with congenital neck mass to
our institute from January 2007 to December 2014 was retrospectively analysed with regards to age, gender, types of
swelling, location and the investigations performed. Data was presented in the form of tables, diagrams and pie charts. 67
patients with different congenital neck swellings were studied. Out of these most frequent were thyroglossal duct anomalies
37 (55.2%) followed by dermoid cysts 16 (23.9%), lymphangiomas 7 (10.45%) and haemangiomas 4 (5.9%). Other rare
swellings included cervical teratoma, ectopic thyroid and giant congenital hamartoma with one case each. Congenital
midline neck masses constitute less talked about but important clinical entity. These masses pose diagnostic, therapeutic
and surgical challenges to many clinicians. Hence, for proper management, sound knowledge of these masses and adequate
surgical skills are necessary prerequisitesddd |
