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Carlos Ayala, MD; Gerald B. Healy, MD; Caroline D. Robson, MD; Sara O. Vargas, MD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2003;129:241-243.

Embryologic remnants of thyroid tissue often line the thyroglossal duct tract and may commonly become cystic. Calcification in such a cyst is thought to be a specific marker for malignancy, which may develop in 1% of thyroglossal duct cysts. We describe a 3-year-old boy with a midline neck mass that showed radiologic calcification. Pathologic evaluation revealed psammomatous calcification in association with a benign thyroglossal duct cyst. These findings, not previously reported (to our knowledge), expand the radiologic differential diagnosis of calcified neck masses and broaden the spectrum of pathologic findings seen in association with benign thyroglossal duct cysts.

From the Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School (Drs Ayala and Healy), the Department of Otolaryngology, Children's Hospital (Drs Ayala and Healy), and the Departments of Radiology (Dr Robson) and Pathology (Dr Vargas), Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.