Abstract

OBJECTIVE
We report an interesting case involving a child with a branchial cleft anomaly with two fistulous tracts, one of which was associated with an unusual otoscopic finding.
CASE REPORT
A seven-year-old girl presented with an apparent type II first branchial cleft cyst after an acute infection. Parotidectomy and excision of the tract were performed, with subsequent development of pre-auricular swelling three months later. Further surgery was performed to remove a second duplication anomaly of the external auditory canal. Otomicroscopy showed a fibrous band arising from the wall of the canal and attached to the tympanic membrane at the umbo.
CONCLUSION
Otoscopic findings on physical examination can be important diagnostic clues in the early recognition of branchial cleft anomalies. The classification system proposed by Work may fail to describe some branchial cleft lesions.

Links

Publisher Full Text

Authors

Ebelhar AJ, Potts K

Institution

Division of Otolaryngology, Department of Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Kentucky 40202, USA.

Source

The Journal of laryngology and otology 126:3 2012 Mar pg 316-8

MeSH

Abscess
Branchial Region
Branchioma
Child
Drainage
Ear Canal
Female
Head and Neck Neoplasms
Humans
Microscopy
Neck
Otoscopy
Parotid Diseases
Reoperation
Tympanic Membrane

Pub Type(s)

Case Reports
Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22152758