Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Meir Medical Center
The differential diagnosis of left neck swelling varies and includes congenital cysts, benign and malignant tumors. Cervical thoracic duct pathology (TDP) is a very rare differential diagnosis of left cervical swelling; in fact it is the rarest location among thoracic duct (TD) cysts or obstruction.
High-resolution US with linear probes allow assessment of the cervical thoracic duct with high detection rates. Knowing the ultrasonographic characteristics of the normal anatomy and abnormal features of the cervical portion of the TD, help establishing this rare diagnosis
As an example in this presentation we report three cases of three female patients with neck swelling in which TDP was the final diagnosis.
We review the relevant literature and discuss the characteristics and diagnosis of these lesions; we describe the anatomic features of the normal and abnormal cervical portion of the TD, mentioning pitfalls and considerations in diagnosing TDP with ultrasound.
