thyroglossal cyst? is surgery only remedy?

logearav

Revered Members,
What is the reason for person getting thyro glossal cyst? Is it anything to do with thyroid disorder? I have known people having this problem living without taking any medicines. Is surgery the only remedy for this? If untreated will it becomes a cancer cyst?

hnought

logerav,

A thyroglossal duct cyst (TGDC) is one of the central masses that can develop in the neck. Others include branchial cleft cysts, cystic hygromas, hemangiomas, and dermoid cysts.

A TGDC is a remnant of the pathway the developing thyroid takes from the base of the tongue during development. It attaches to the hyoid bone (the structure just above the Adam's apple).

Complications include enlargement (especially after infection) and very rarely, thyroid cancer.

The usual management is surgical excision, together with the tract and the central part of the hyoid bone (a Sistrunk procedure). Complete excision up to the base of the tongue has a low recurrence rate of less than 10%.

Prior to surgery, a thyroid scan should be done to make sure that normal functional thyroid tissue exists in the correct spot. Rare cases have been described where the cyst contains the only thyroid tissue and removal will lead to severe hypothyroidism and chronic thyroid hormone supplementation. In the vast majority of cases, it has nothing to do with thyroid dysfunction(s), though.

The cancer rate is very low as I have mentioned. This might be due, though, to the fact that we remove all these lesions, at least in my Unit.

J.

logearav

Thanks a lot sir for your detailed reply. But is surgery the only remedy?

Evo

May I ask your reason for asking these questions? We do not give out information intended for diagnosis or treatment.

logearav

nothing specific, just out of curiosity i am asking. i went through an article about this and i felt it would be better to get clarified in this revered forum. its always better to hear from experts than believing solely on wikipedia stuff

hnought

Evo, there is a difference between information and diagnosis / treatment. The multitude of information that exists on the internet can be very confusing and without the proper knowledge and years of experience can be incorrectly interpreted. For proper diagnosis and treatment you need face to face time with an appropriate healthcare professional. You will note that my post offers no attempt at diagnosis and therefor should comply with the guidelines of the forum. I do not see any harm in education through explanation and clarification of online information, though. I await your thoughts on this.