A Clinical Experience of First Branchial Cleft Anomaly.

Kang, Hong Dae; Moon, Ji Hyun; Lee, Nae Ho; Yang, Kyung Moo

Case Report

Journal of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons 2003;30(1):75-78.
Published online January 1, 2003.

A Clinical Experience of First Branchial Cleft Anomaly.

Hong Dae Kang, Ji Hyun Moon, Nae Ho Lee, Kyung Moo Yang

Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, College of Medicine, Chonbuk National University, Chonju, Korea. shark1103@hanmail.net

Abstract

First branchial cleft anomalies are a special group of congenital malformations of the head and neck. The incidence of these lesion is very low, fewer than 10% of all branchial cleft anomalies. This anomaly develops as a result of incomplete fusion of the cleft between the first and second branchial arch. The time when appear clinical symptom has a wide range between the birth and adult, the symptoms occur in the preauricular and cervical region located above a horizontal plane passing through the hyoid bone. The initial symptoms of branchial cleft anomaly was palpable & movable mass, discharge from fistula, no touch pain, and then they are usually associated with infection. Because of difficulty in diagnosis, the inadequate management leads to have recurrence and iatrogenic injury of facial nerve. We have experienced a case of first branchial cleft anomaly that the symptom unusually appear on right cheek in a 27-years-old male patient and so report with the result of surgical extirpation and some reviews of the literatures.

Keywords: First branchial cleft anomaly