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View Full Version : Branchial cleft cyst?



hellokitty
01-13-2010, 04:20 PM
Just wondering if anyone's child has had to have surgery to remove a branchial cleft cyst before. We noticed a lump on the right side of DS1's neck the week of Christmas, and suspected a branchial cleft cyst and went to the ped, who referred us a ped ENT. Went to the ped ENT on Monday and DS1 will need surgery to remove it (plus get some minor surgery to his right ear, congenital issues) and the rest of the tract (he will not know how deep it runs until he gets to look inside during surgery, he says sometimes they are very deep, sometimes they are very shallow). We also were finally told that he DOES have some facial nerve weakness on the right side, that is all related to this, but luckily, it is a very slight weakness, which explains why his facial experessions have never been totally symmetrical, it was more noticeable when he was a baby. It isn't an emergency, but it needs to be dealt with, so he is scheduled for surgery during spring break. :( If you or your child have gone through this, I'd like to hear how things went and if you have any advice to offer. I'm happy with the specialist we saw, b/c it was a recommendation from someone sil knows, but still freaked out about the idea of surgery, and will probably get more and more anxious about it as the surgery date approaches.

MamaKath
01-13-2010, 09:29 PM
No info, but lots of p&pt for you, your ds and family!

ThreeofUs
01-13-2010, 10:49 PM
Haven't btdt, but sending P&PT your way. May your DS's surgery be quick, successful, with a quick recovery.

hellokitty
01-14-2010, 09:16 AM
Thanks ladies, I appreciate your kind thoughts.

Random987
03-25-2012, 10:13 PM
Hi hellokitty,

Did your DS have the surgery? My DD (6 weeks old) appears to have a branchial cleft sinus. We are going to see a.surgeon in a week or two to get some guidance.

Thanks!

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk

hellokitty
03-25-2012, 11:08 PM
Hi hellokitty,

Did your DS have the surgery? My DD (6 weeks old) appears to have a branchial cleft sinus. We are going to see a.surgeon in a week or two to get some guidance.

Thanks!

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk

Yes, he had surgery almost two yrs ago and has done well. They removed the entire tract and he hasn't had any other issues since then. We did not have the procedure done when we first discovered the sinus, it wasn't until it had become an actual cyst that we moved forward with plans for surgery. Recovery for the procedure was not bad at all (it was outpatient for him, he was 6 yrs old when he had it done). He had another procedure done at the same time though, his right ear was missing a crease, which was probably related to the branchial cleft cyst during the embryonic period. That proved to be much more of a challenge to deal with during recovery. Apparently, he is allergic to the thread they used for the stitches and also the antibiotic ointment used later on, so we had to get the stitches out, but luckily it had, "set," by then, since our insurance refused to pay for that since they consider it plastic surgery, we had to pay for that part of the procedure OOP. The dressing changes were horrible (I'm an RN), I had to fight him quite a bit. However, once again, that was the ear surgery, the cyst surgery was not a big deal at all, and I've had several friends whose kids have had the same surgery for the cyst/sinus without issues at all.

My advice if you end up getting surgery for your dd, is to make sure you go to an ENT who has a lot of experience with this procedure on children. We did put it off until he was older. Originally, the first ENT we saw was very over-eager to do surgery and suggested we do other things like removal of ear wax during the procedure, etc.. That really just rubbed me the wrong way, I felt like she just saw dollar signs. We ended up getting a recommendation from someone within the field and went to the head of pediatric ENT at a large university hospital. The procedure for the cyst went well.

Random987
04-25-2012, 07:52 PM
Thanks! (and sorry for the late reply). We met with our first surgeon this afternoon who suggested we wait until our DD is between 6 months and a year (she is 12 weeks) to make sure that all of the surrounding structures are fully formed. He does these about once a month and in an out patient basis (I was very surprised when you said that!). We have two more appointments with other surgeons to get their opinions/recommendations. This surgeon (who is a plastic surgeon) also said that you can not tell how extensive the surgery will be until you actually get in there. The "tube" can go anywhere around nerves, etc.

Thanks again for the response and the reassurances. This is pretty nerve wracking for a parents of a newborn!




Yes, he had surgery almost two yrs ago and has done well. They removed the entire tract and he hasn't had any other issues since then. We did not have the procedure done when we first discovered the sinus, it wasn't until it had become an actual cyst that we moved forward with plans for surgery. Recovery for the procedure was not bad at all (it was outpatient for him, he was 6 yrs old when he had it done). He had another procedure done at the same time though, his right ear was missing a crease, which was probably related to the branchial cleft cyst during the embryonic period. That proved to be much more of a challenge to deal with during recovery. Apparently, he is allergic to the thread they used for the stitches and also the antibiotic ointment used later on, so we had to get the stitches out, but luckily it had, "set," by then, since our insurance refused to pay for that since they consider it plastic surgery, we had to pay for that part of the procedure OOP. The dressing changes were horrible (I'm an RN), I had to fight him quite a bit. However, once again, that was the ear surgery, the cyst surgery was not a big deal at all, and I've had several friends whose kids have had the same surgery for the cyst/sinus without issues at all.

My advice if you end up getting surgery for your dd, is to make sure you go to an ENT who has a lot of experience with this procedure on children. We did put it off until he was older. Originally, the first ENT we saw was very over-eager to do surgery and suggested we do other things like removal of ear wax during the procedure, etc.. That really just rubbed me the wrong way, I felt like she just saw dollar signs. We ended up getting a recommendation from someone within the field and went to the head of pediatric ENT at a large university hospital. The procedure for the cyst went well.