Reddish Midline Mass (Thyreoglossal Duct Cyst)

9.5-year-old boy with a small midline mass above the isthmus of the thyroid gland which is cystic on palaption. According to the age of the patient, the site, and the local findings of the mass, it may be a thyroglossal duct cyst. Clinical skills may yield further information: The precise examination is performed with the patient in a sitting position, his/her head reclining, and a roll supporting the neck, to observe the mass on swallowing. The obtained findings, together with the small scar and the redness over the mass, allow the diagnosis of a former infected medial cyst of the neck (scar following a former incision of an abscess of the cyst). At the moment, the inflammation is healing; therefore, an excision of the thyroglossal duct cyst may be performed soon selectively; $$tuha_01??££see figure for comparison 1§§ and $$tuha_6??££figure for comparison 2§§.