Scar (Lateral Fistula of the Neck)

In the demonstrated case of a 5.1-year-old girl a congenital scar is visible laterally to the midline on the right side of the neck without a visible opening; the scar has been present since birth, and neither a trauma nor a disease has occurred (at the top submandibular, at the bottom jugular region). The typical site of the scar at the anterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle in the lower third reminds of a lateral fistula of the neck. By squeezing out the soft tissue above the scar in the direction of the expected opening a possible passage of secretion may confirm the diagnosis of a branchial fistula.