Recurrent neck abscess due to a bronchogenic cyst in an adult

Abstract

Neck abscesses can originate from congenital cervical cysts. Cervical cysts of bronchogenic origin are rare and often asymptomatic. Common symptoms of bronchogenic cysts are stridor, dyspnoea and dysphagia. The reported patient represents the second published case of a bronchogenic cyst causing a neck abscess in an adult. We report a case of a cervical bronchogenic cyst presenting as a recurrent supraclavicular abscess in a middle-aged woman. During extirpation, a fistula was demonstrated to the right upper lobe of the lung, suspected because the cyst inflated synchronously with respiration. The symptoms of bronchogenic cysts are due to the effects of compression or fistulas. In the majority of these cysts, a thorough investigation involving history, examination and radiological imaging does not clearly demonstrate a fistula. Therefore, extirpation is both diagnostic and therapeutic. A bronchogenic cyst is a very rare cause of a recurrent deep neck abscess. Total extirpation is the treatment of choice.