Pretracheal tumor with hair

In case of cystic tumors in the jugular area teratoma, thymoma and cystic altered thyroid tissue are usually considered.

A 63 year old patient presented with weight loss and an enoral mucosal lesion in our department. Night sweating or further signs of infection were denied.

The preoperative ultrasound demonstrated a cystic tumor localised median in the jugular area with an max. diameter of 2.5cm. There was no contact to the hyoid bone nor the thyroid gland and no further pathologies described. After the performed panendoscopy for the mucosal lesion, we excised the cystic tumor in total through a cervical approach. The tumor presented two colors (yellow and orange) as well as hairs. The histological analysis revealed dermoid cyst with perifocal foreign body reaction as well as giant cells of endogenous type, without signs of malignancy. It was not a teratoma, as initially suspected.

Conclusion Seldom can dermoid cysts in the jugular area reach these dimensions without showing signs of infection or other clinical symptoms. Due to the anatomical location, more rare diseases should be considered in advance. To clarify the unclear malignancies and prevent degeneration, a surgical therapy of the tumor is indicated with a complete extirpation, as soon as the tumor is diagnosed.

Poster-PDF A-1561.pdf

Conflict of interest

Der Erstautor gibt keinen Interessenskonflikt an.

Publication History

Article published online:
13 May 2021