Anyone ever had one?

I just went to my doc about a swelling in my neck, and that's what they think it is. I've read a lot online about what it is (the leftovers from embrionic development), and how to treat (surgical removal).

What concerns me is that they sometimes find that part of the thyroid is involved and has to be removed also. Depending on how much, this can lead to surgically induced hypothroidism. I've thought my thyroid's been sluggish for years, but the blood work never shows anything.

I'm just wondering if there's anyone on the forum who's gone thru this? I'm not looking forward to the removal....but it could be a whole lot worse!

My husband had a left cleft cyst in his neck years ago. At first they said he was getting sick with the flu and then they asked him if he swallowed a pickle. It was very scary. We went to an ENT and he diagnosed it right away. He drained green stuff out of it. I almost passed out. Treated him with anti biotics. That wasn't working so they switched anti biotic and my husband had an alergic reaction to it. Put him on another medicine and had reaction to that too. He had never had a reaction to meds before.

So the doctor said it needed to be removed. The surgery was out patient and was relatively fast healing. Once it was out he has never had a problem again. They did have to remove a lymph node but it is not a problem.

I hope this helps. This left cleft is something that is there from birth but it usually gets real small or goes away. His did not so when this infection started for some reason it formed there.

This hopefully has nothing to do witht the thyroid. Good luck. I am on Schwarzbein II food plan. It works.

Thanks for the response msk! My understanind of this is that while it's a tract, it sometimes has finger like projections that can also become infected, inflamed. I've also read that if this is a cyst it has to be removed or it will keep coming back.

Well, the doc was supposed to call me today, but didn't. I have an appt wed to find oout what's going on.

The doc I saw first, who said it was a blocked salivary gland, called Wednesday and said I had "deep cellulitis" according to the CT scan. I don't agree with this, as I have no signs of infection at all. I agree it might be a cyst that's infected....but cellulitis has pretty distinct symptoms, like redness, heat, etc and I have none. Also, the lump shrunk again, so I really don't agree with this diagnosis.

Time will tell....let's see what this guy says next week.

Cindy: When I was in the first grade, I had this lump in my neck. Our ENT diagnosed it as a "stone" in my neck, and said it might need to be removed surgically., if it didn't respond to penicillin. It eventually went down....though it led to me dropping out of Catholic school in the first grade, and starting over in public school the next year.....a long story.

Now whenever I have any sort of viral infection anywhere in my body, that part of my neck swells up. Actually it stays noticeable even when I'm not sick, but since it has been over fifty years since I first noticed it, clearly it's not a major problem.

By the way, Sarah and Kim and I are muttering about getting together for lunch again sometime in April....want to join us?

Kay

TarHeel....yes to lunch! just say where and when!

According to the doc, most lumps in the neck that are mid-line (and mine is dead center) and above the thyroid are caused by this. There are some lymph nodes in the same area, but it's more likely a cyst that caused the lump. Of course, that was before the CT scan, so we'll see.

Well....they THINK it's a thyroglossal cyst.

The CT scan showed a "deep cellulitis", which both the doc and I disagreed with. Actually we both agreed we'd never heard the term! Since I have no symptoms of a cellulitis, they did a needle biopsy (3 actually) and it showed moderate inflamation, no thyroid cells, and not much else. Since it's still there, and there is a danger of infection and cancer developing, I'm having it removed the end of April.

Planned removal is easier and safer than waiting until it becomes a necessity.

Cindy,

I came accross your message from March about your thyroglossal cyst. I've just come from an ENT and he has given me the same diagnosis for a mass in my neck that I've had for the last two weeks.

I'm anxious to hear how your surgery and recovery went. Any problems since?
And what about the thyroid? Did they have to remove any of that?

Thanks!
KYCat

I had the surgery done. It wasn't too bad.

The cyst is in a tract that connects your tongue and thyroid. Most people don't even have the tract....it's a product of fetal development and disappears in most. When it remains it usually stays quiet and causes no problems, but for some reason a cyst will form on the tract and it should be removed, eventually. From what I've read, and been told by my doc, it may flare once and never again....it may flare up every few months or years...or it may flare and never go away. Mine flared up 3 times, each time it was bigger. I never had any pain. The cyst is often exact midline.....mine was.

For the surgery they remove the tract with the cyst. They also take a bit of the back of the tongue and possibly a small amount of thyroid (rare from what I read). There's also a small bone in the neck that is directly under the tract, the hyoid bone, and part of that is removed too. Te removal of the bone seems to be a big factor in whether the cyst recurs or not.

I had the surgery in an Ambulatory Care Center. Went in in the morning, around 8 and left late afternoon, around 5 or 6. The doc booked a bed for overnight, just in case, but I was able to go home around 3, but didn't have a ride. This is a surgery where they must knock you out and put a breathing tube in.

My doc kinda scared me talking about the pain after....warning me to take the meds as offered, don't let it get away from you, etc etc etc. He also said I'd have to stick with a soft, bland diet for a week, possibly longer. Once home, I took a total of 5 pain med doses over the next 4 days...it wasn't bad at all. I was eating regular food withing 4-5 days too. Inintially my throat hurt when I swallowed, sipping warm tea helped a lot. Coughing hurt....and sneezing was a new experience!

I missed 2 days of work...could have been 1 if I'd had the surgery on a Friday. I did have some pretty nasty bruising (doc was surprised at this) and a reaction to the dressing tape (even the paper tape!).

I would say get the surgery if you have a lot of swelling, or it keeps coming back, gets infected, etc. I'm told the chance of cancer is very rare, but I'm a smoker with a sister who had cancer of the epiglottis, so I wanted it out. I also had a trip planned and didn't want to take a chance on it flaring up while I was gone. The doc told me the way I was going, with each flare up worse than the one before, there was a chance that eventually I might require emergency surgery.

I'm curious what they did to make a diagnosis....and how long it took.

Mine was diagnosed right away....but it looked like I had a tennis ball in my neck. I saw a dentist (I'd had a recent extraction), then an ENT. They did a CT scan and a needle biopsy, both "suggested" a cyst, but they couldn't be sure until they removed it....another reason why I wanted it out! Another doc I see was very surprised that I was discnosed so fast.....he said people often go thru months or years of flare ups before they figure it out. Another thing with mine was it was exactly mid-line....and that is almost always a thyroglossal cyst.

Good luck and let me know what you decide to do.

Hi Cindy,

Thanks for the reply. Sorry it took me so long to respond. Regarding my diagnosis. It was quick. I noticed the swelling in my neck - mine is not quite midline - just a bit to the left. Saw my GP, he treated with aspirin & lemon drops & told me to give it a week. After no improvement for 1 week, he sent me for an MRI and to an ENT. Radioligist & ENT both diagnosed a TC. ENT checked my throat, had me stick out my tongue several times and then checked the MRI films. Of course, later, I read that movement of the mass when sticking out your tongue is characterstic of a TC. But I was a little worried about the sofisticated exmaination at first

Everything I've heard & read suggests that they very often return, including your experience, so even though this is the first episode, I'm scheduled for surgery July 1. I'm sure all will go well & I'll be back to normal in no time.
Thanks again for your info. It always helps when you talk to someone who has gone though the same thing. Doctors can be so intimidating sometimes.

I'll let you know how the surgery goes.

Blessings to you!

KYcat

Hope all goes well with you! Like I said, I didn't think it was too bad. I had actually seen my reg doc and an ENT when it flared the first time, but it had pretty much gone down by then and they both figured it was nothing....I don't think they even believed there was any swelling at all! When it flared the 3rd time I insisted on an appt ASAP, with a different doc, and it was less swollen, but still obvious when I saw the second ENT doc. CT scan indicted a "deep cellulitis"....an infection. I had no signs of infection.....no fever, reddness, or heat in the area. My reg doc wanted me on antibiotics immediately, but I refused and deferred to the ENT. He said I was smart to refuse the antibiotics....there was no infection. A needle aspirate showed only inflamation, no ifection.....surgery showed no infection.

Good luck and let me know how things go!

Cindy

I have a lump in the middle of my neck. My mother thought it was my adam's apple When I went to the doctor the first time, cause I kind of feel a lump in my throat (more on the outside then in) and it kind of moves when I touch it.. He said it's probably thyroid tissue. Now after an ultra sound he wants a biopsy.

Does yours kind of move if you push on it? Or feel like a hard ball? Mine is scaring me to death.

Keto.....mine moved a little, but not much. It was not painful until they started poking at it and doing the needle biopsy. It was also fairly soft.....not really soft, but not hard like a marble either. Mine at it's largest was probably about the size of an orange.

Get the biopsy done....and insist on a preliminary report. Mine got dramatically smaller after the biopsy....most likely because of the amount of fluid they got out. After it was very tender for several days. It is scarey! Having something in your neck of all places! But, if it's midline the chances of it being cancerous are very small!

Good luck and keep us informed!

i am only 14 and i just found a lunp on my neck and its growing im goin to go to the doctors but they wont belive me

keto hang in there lots of the people have had this and they are ok
also my doc says mine is a infected slivarly gland and i felt it its hard and dont move

dd123 Thyroglossal cyst is always midline. It's a tract between the tongue and thyroid gland that is the remains of fetal development. Salivary glands are usually more to the side, but can be toward the middle. My doc told me when he was mine was exactly midline he knew it was the cyst. My "regular" doc had said salivary gland, and this is why I got the explaination. The other thing is that they thyroglossal isn't usually infected, so there's no fever and no redness or heat at the site.

You're smart to push your doc tho! NEVER take "it's nothing" for an answer if you feel like it's more.