Balloon catheter assisted excision of benign cervical cyst

Abstract Objectives Benign cystic masses that develop in the neck are easily excised with a wide skin incision. However, if the cyst is perforated and the contour of the cyst is not maintained during surgery, complete excision may be difficult. We developed a surgical method that can maintain the contour of a cyst and decrease the wound size with a balloon catheter. Methods Two cases with a branchial cleft cyst (BCC) were removed using this method without recurrence. The surgical technique includes a skin incision above the cyst, and fine dissection to expose the cyst wall. Then a small tap incision was created on the cyst using a #11 blade and a #14 Fr. Foley catheter was inserted through the incision site and the balloon was inflated up to 4 cm3 using normal saline. The fluid inner content was carefully removed keeping the intracystic balloon inflated. By pulling and releasing the catheter, the cyst was dissected carefully and excised. Results Complete excision of the cyst was performed with the balloon catheter successfully. The final pathological diagnosis was BCC in the two cases. Conclusions The balloon-assisted technique was easy to perform and could be used for the excision of a benign cystic neck mass.