Study of benign neck swellings of anterior neck triangle at a tertiary care centre

Abstract

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Tumors of the neck are interesting to surgeons especially because of the complex neck anatomy and difficult differential diagnosis. The aim is to study different types of neck swellings i.e. thyroid swelling, salivary gland swelling, other neck swellings such as thyroglossal cyst, branchial cyst, lymphangioma and also the miscellaneous and rare lumps in the neck. The study also discusses their age and sex-wise distribution, clinical features, presentation, diagnostic modalities and treatment.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> This is a prospective study, conducted at our institute Government Medical College, Latur from June 2017 to May 2018 for a duration of one year. </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> A total of 57 patients were studied during this period. Out of the 57 patients, 47 of them were midline swellings (82.45%) and 10 among them were lateral neck swellings (17.55%). People over a wide range of age group between 5-60 years were affected. Midline neck swelling were more common than lateral neck swellings.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Among the midline benign neck swellings, thyroid swelling was found to be the commonest followed by thyroglossal cyst. Thyroid swellings occur more commonly in the females than males. Ultrasound guided FNAC is the most common, effective and safe investigation that aids in the diagnosis. Treatment of choice for benign, non-inflammatory and non-malignant neck swelling is mostly surgical excision rather than medical management.</p>