ABERRANT CERVICAL THYMUS - A CASE-REPORT AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This article illustrates a case of an aberrant cervical thymus present ed as a neck mass. This is a case of a 4-month-old boy presenting with a right submandibular mass whose preoperative diagnosis was lymphangi oma or neoplastic lesion. The mass was successfully removed and the hi stopathological examination showed normal thymic tissue with no diagno stic abnormality. This paper reviews the embryological background of a berrant cervical thymus, the varying clinical presentations with an em phasis on differential diagnosis, clinical work-up, and surgical treat ment. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.