A Case of a Metastatic Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Presenting as a Lateral Neck Cyst

ABSTRACT

A case of a papillary thyroid carcinoma presenting as a cystic lateral neck mass is reported. A 73-year-old woman presented with a painless swelling of the right side of the neck which had been noticed for 60 years. The soft tissue mass was clinically and sonographically thought to be branchial cleft cyst. However, excisional biopsy showed it to be a cystic lymph-node metastasis from a papillary thyroid carcinoma. Two weeks later, a total thyroidectomy was performed, but no malignant lesion was found in the thyroid. This case of a metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma to the lateral neck node mimiced a branchial cleft cyst. In old age, a lateral neck cyst being a cystic metastasis, as well as a benign cyst, should be considered so a careful preoperative evaluation is neccessary.