FINE-NEEDLE ASPIRATION OF HEAD AND NECK MASSES IN CHILDREN

Purpose: Head and neck masses in children are common. Suspicious or pe rsistent masses are referred to the otolaryngologist who is faced with the dilemma of deciding which ones require surgical excision. Fine-ne edle aspiration (FNA) in adults helps distinguish lesions requiring ex cision from those that do not. Few reports exist of its use in childre n. Patients and Methods; Between January 1991 and December 1994, 67 FN As were performed on children, 29 of which (43%) were for head and nec k masses. Based on the FNA findings, 16 patients underwent surgery. Re sults: in 13 patients, the final pathology was consistent with the FNA findings: granulomatous diseases (3), branchial cysts (3), acute/chro nic lymphadenitis (3), thyroglossal cyst, hemangioma, Hodgkin's lympho ma, and Castleman's disease (one each). There was one misdiagnosis, no false positives, and two nondiagnostic specimens. Based on the result s of FNA, surgery was not performed in the remaining 10 patients. The cytology was: cervical lymphadenopathy (7), abscess formation (1), lym phangioma (1), and leukemia (1). Conclusion: We conclude that FNA is a n extremely useful tool in the management of head and neck masses in c hildren. It is very well-tolerated by children, and we did not encount er any complications. Copyright (C) 1997 by W.B. Saunders Company.