Thyroglossal duct cysts, a case series in Oral Maxillofacial surgery Department of G. Papanikolaou Hospital of Thessaloniki

Introduction A thyroglossal duct cyst (TGDC) is the most frequent embryonic-origin cervical mass situated in the anterior of the neck. This anomaly occurs in approximately in 7% of people, usually in children. Mainly it presents as a mobile, non-tender, usually inferior to the hyoid bone (~75% of patients) painless swelling but it can be painful when accompanied by local inflammation. The recommended management for TGDC is the Sistrunk procedure, ensuring removal of the full length of the duct remnants by including the midportion of the hyoid bone. Case series presentation The aim of this paper is to present a case series of five patients who were operated in the OMFS department of Papanikolaou Hospital of Thessaloniki within 2.5 years (9/2019-2/2022). The patients were four males (80%) (mean age 50.5 years, outliers 36 and 71years) and one (20%) 63 years old female. All of them presented with a mobile painless neck swelling and they had normal thyroid function. All patients underwent a surgical excision of thyroglossal cyst including the midportion of hyoid bone (Sistrunk procedure). None of them presented a recurrence. Conclusion A TGDC, although it is rare in adults as it is typically diagnosed and treated surgically in childhood, it can be complicated with inflammation. In any case, surgical resection and histological confirmation are required as cases of malignant lesion have been reported.