We report the case of a 63-year-old female with a branchial cleft cyst of the hypopharynx. The tumor was found incidentally when she was given a fiberscopic examination of the upper digestive tract. Fiberscopic endoscopy, esophagogram, and MRI all revealed a smooth-surfaced tumor in the left piriform sinus. The patient underwent laryngomicrosurgery under general anesthesia, and the tumor was removed from the postero-lateral wall of the left piriform sinus. The histopathological diagnosis was of a lymphoepithelial cyst.
To our knowledge, this is the fourth report in the Japanese literature on a branchial cleft cyst of the hypopharynx.