English

Abstract

Neck swellings are usually the most visible and noticeable pathologies. These swellings include enlarged lymph nodes, swellings of thyroid gland, congenital / developmental cysts and lipomas.1 Cystic congenital neck masses are usually very well diagnosed in childhood. Congenital cystic masses of the anterior neck include thyroglossal duct cyst (TDC), branchial cleft cyst & cystic hygromas from uncommon pathologies to very rare thymic and bronchogenic cysts.2 Painless and soft or fluctuant nature of neck mass is usually the first clinical presentation in most cases. Ultrasonography (USG) helps to define the size, shape and extent of mass and confirms the cystic nature of lesion, whereas histopathological examination is the gold standard.3 The purpose of this article is to impress upon all that USG is an adjuvant imaging modality which helps in diagnosing cystic nature of the neck lesions. But most of the time, it cannot differentiate between dermoid cyst and thyroglossal cyst. The present case of infected thyroglossal duct cyst was reported to have diagnostic dilemma between clinical diagnosis and sonographic diagnosis. Histopathological examination confirmed the clinical diagnosis of Infected TDC.