Case of the Week

 

Today I removed a cystic hygroma from the neck of a 3 year old girl.  A cystic hygroma is a congenital multiloculated lymphatic lesion that can be found anywhere in the body, most often in found in the posterior triangle of the neck.  These are benign lesions, but can be very disfiguring.  I was able to resect the entire mass, which I was very happy about.  There were some very hairy moments in the case though.  The cystic structures went right down and ran along her jugular vein and carotid artery.  Resecting the mass off these structures was a bit nerve wrecking, but all went well in the end.