Treatment

Treatment

Treatment must include excision of the whole thyroglossal tract, which involves removal of the body of the hyoid bone and the suprahyoid tract through the tongue base to the vallecula at the site of the primitive foramen caecum, together with a core of tissue on either side. This operation is known as Sistrunk’s operation and minimises recurrence, most notably from small side branches of the thyroglossal tract.

Figure 52.66 A patient with a thyroglossal /f_i stula from a cyst in the midline of the neck.

Treatment

Treatment must include excision of the whole thyroglossal tract, which involves removal of the body of the hyoid bone and the suprahyoid tract through the tongue base to the vallecula at the site of the primitive foramen caecum, together with a core of tissue on either side. This operation is known as Sistrunk’s operation and minimises recurrence, most notably from small side branches of the thyroglossal tract.

Figure 52.66 A patient with a thyroglossal /f_i stula from a cyst in the midline of the neck.