Enigma in the Management of Branchial Cyst: Case Report

Introduction: The oral lympho-epithelial cyst is a rare soft-tissue, developmental anomaly, initially presented by Gold in 1962 as a branchial cleft cyst. It may occur in pancreas, tongue, neck and oral cavity. Case report: We report a case of 39 years old male presented to surgery opd with painless swelling over the left side of neck - 3 months duration. On examination swelling was 8*4cm in left submandibular region, non-tender, no local rise of temperature noted, compressible, bimanually palpable, neck nodes were not palpable, oral cavity/ oropharynx was normal. ENT examination was normal. Excision of the gland was performed under GA. Conclusion: In adults branchial cleft anomalies most often present with lateral neck mass which is often misdiagnosed and results in inappropriate management.