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Lateral cervical sinus: specific sonographic findings in two pediatric cases

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Abstract

A lateral cervical sinus, also known as a second pharyngeal or branchial cleft fistula/sinus, occurs when the second pharyngeal arch fails to grow caudally over the third and fourth arches, leaving remnants of the second branchial clefts in contact with the surface of the neck via a narrow canal. This type of sinus is detected on the lateral aspect of the neck directly anterior to the sternocleidomastoid muscle. We report two pediatric cases with lateral cervical sinus, and pathognomonic sonographic findings to confirm the diagnosis. The first case involved a 3-month-old boy with a sinus on the lateral neck and occasional drainage from a cervical sinus opening. Sonography revealed that the sinus tract extended between the external and internal carotid arteries. In case two, a 1-month-old girl presented with a sinus on the lateral neck and signs of acute infection at the site of a pinpoint opening. Sonography revealed an oval-shaped cystic lesion and sinus tract extending between the external and internal carotid arteries. Sonography does not require radiation or sedation for children. The best choice for the first examination for lateral cervical sinus is sonography, rather than CT, MRI, or contrast fistulograms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Saitama Children’s Medical Center, 2100 Magome, Iwatsuki, Saitama, 339-8551, Japan

    Takahiro Hosokawa, Yumiko Sato, Yutaka Tanami & Eiji Oguma

  2. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 160-8582, Japan

    Yoshitake Yamada

  3. Department of Surgery, Saitama Children’s Medical Center, 2100 Magome, Iwatsuki, Saitama, 339-8551, Japan

    Hizuru Amano, Michimasa Fujiogi & Hiroshi Kawashima

Authors
  1. Takahiro Hosokawa
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  2. Yoshitake Yamada
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  3. Yumiko Sato
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  4. Yutaka Tanami
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  5. Hizuru Amano
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  6. Michimasa Fujiogi
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  7. Hiroshi Kawashima
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  8. Eiji Oguma
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Takahiro Hosokawa.

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Conflict of interest

Takahiro Hosokawa, Yoshitake Yamada, Yumiko Sato, Yutaka Tanami, Hizuru Amano, Michimasa Fujiogi, Hiroshi Kawashima, and Eiji Oguma declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that could lead to a conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Hosokawa, T., Yamada, Y., Sato, Y. et al. Lateral cervical sinus: specific sonographic findings in two pediatric cases. J Med Ultrasonics 42, 595–599 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10396-015-0650-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10396-015-0650-4

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