Background. Congenital cysts of the neck in children are not uncommon. Most
of these are thyroglossal, branchial cleft, or less commonly. thymic cysts
. Bronchial cysts rarely are initially seen as a neck mass.
Methods. Use of an illustrative case of a bronchogenic cyst initially seen
as an upper lateral neck mass.
Conclusions. We emphasize that although ectopic bronchogenic cysts are rare
lesions of the head and neck, especially in the upper lateral neck, they s
hould be included in the differential diagnosis in the evaluation of congen
ital neck cysts. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head Neck 23: 590-593, 20
01.