[Aberrant salivary gland tissue in differential diagnosis of branchiogenic neck cyst].

A neck fistula next to the sternocleidomastoid muscle is suspicious of a branchial origin. Here we report on a 29-year-old patient with a discharging cutaneous orifice caused by an ectopic salivary gland. The clinical and histological findings are demonstrated and discussed with reference to the literature. Surgical removal of ectopic salivary gland tissue is the treatment of choice. However, surgery is limited in extent compared to surgical removal of a branchial fistula. Our case demonstrates that an ectopic salivary gland should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a branchial fistula.