The Combination Therapy of Chemocauterization and Electrocauterization on Fourth Branchial Cleft Cyst

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Fourth branchial cleft cyst is a rare congenital anomaly which cause a recurrent cervical abscess. Complete excision of fourth branchial cleft cyst is difficult because of a complicated fistula tract. In addition to attempting chemocauterization with trichloroacetic acid (TCA) to avoid surgical complications, authors performed an electrocauterization to close internal opening of pyriform sinus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed ten patients of fourth branchial cleft cyst underwent TCA chemocauterization and electrocauterization simultaneously. Clinical characteristics including patient informations, medical records, treatment results were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Interval time until diagnosed with fourth branchial cleft cyst was variable from several days to decades. Five patients had a history of incision and drainage. Mean follow up period was 36.1 months and all patients were treated with no recurrence. CONCLUSION: TCA chemocauterization with electrocauterization can be a effective choice to reduce recurrence rate and ensure safety of patients of fourth branchial cleft cyst.