Neck Masses in Children

The differential diagnosis is long... You need an approach.   The Rule of 3s: 3 minutes -- Traumatic 3 days -- Inflammatory 3 months -- Neoplastic 3 years -- Congenital   3 Minutes?  Traumatic   3 Days?  Inflammatory [caption id="attachment_1777" align="alignnone" width="262"] Cervical Node Chain; Lymphadenopathy[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1773" align="alignnone" width="298"] Bacterial Lymphadenitis[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1772" align="alignnone" width="300"] Bacterial lymphadenitis with small abscess[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1771" align="alignnone" width="300"] Large Abscess[/caption]   3 Months?  Neoplastic   3 Years?  Congenital [caption id="attachment_1784" align="alignnone" width="300"] Thyroglossal Duct Cyst[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1783" align="alignnone" width="300"] Thyroglossal Duct Cyst[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1776" align="alignnone" width="278"] Branchial Cleft Cyst[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1775" align="alignnone" width="263"] Branchial Cleft Cyst[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1774" align="alignnone" width="233"] Branchial Cleft Cyst[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1779" align="alignnone" width="300"] Cystic Hygroma[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_1778" align="alignnone" width="235"]  Cystic Hygroma[/caption]   Selected References Enepekides DJ. Management of congenital anomalies of the neck. Facial Plast Surg Clin North Am 2001; 9:131. Lin ST, Tseng FY, Hsu CJ, et al. Thyroglossal duct cyst: a comparison between children and adults. Am J Otolaryngol 2008; 29:83. Mandell DL. Head and neck anomalies related to the branchial apparatus. Otolaryngol Clin North Am 2000; 33:1309. Marler JJ, Mulliken JB. Current management of hemangiomas and vascular malformations. Clin Plast Surg 2005; 32:99. Silverman, J. F., Gurley, A. M., Holbrook, C. T., Joshi, V. V. (1991) Pediatric fine needle aspiration biopsy. American Journal of Clinical Pathology 95: 653–659 Sonnino RE, Spigland N, Laberge JM, Desjardins J, Guttman FM. Unusual patterns of congenital neck masses in children. J Pediatr Surg. 1989 Oct;24(10):966-9.