Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2011 | Case report
Respiratory difficulty caused by an ectopic brain tissue mass in the neck of a two-month-old baby: a case report
Published in: Journal of Medical Case Reports | Issue 1/2011
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Introduction
Neuroglial heterotopia, heterotopic brain tissue, or differentiated neural tissue outside the cranial vault is uncommon, and these anomalies most commonly occur in the nasal cavity.
Case presentation
We report a case of rare pure cystic heterotopic brain tissue in a two-month-old Caucasian baby girl that presented as a large cystic neck mass and was confused with a cystic hygroma. Her mother reported a progressive increase in the size of this swelling and mild respiratory difficulty when the girl was sleeping. A computed tomography scan of the brain and neck showed a large heterogeneous mass extending from the base of the skull to the left submandibular region; a cystic component was also noted. Our patient under went total excision of the cystic mass and prevention of airway obstruction by a left submandibular approach. The final gross pathology diagnosis was heterotopic brain tissue.
Conclusions
Pure cystic neck heterotopic brain tissue lesions are very uncommon, and a preoperative diagnosis of this lesion is difficult. Brain heterotopia is a rare, benign condition that should be considered in the differential diagnosis of the neonatal head and neck mass.