[Anomalies of the 1st branchial arch. Apropos of 3 cases].

The authors report three cases of first branchial cleft anomaly in three patients treated in O.R.L. Service of H. Thameur Hospital of Tunis. After an embryologic and a classification discussion, they expose the etiologic data and insist on the extreme rarity of these malformations (1-8% of the branchial abnormalities). To establish a positive diagnosis, some specific clinic data have to be known, so much the chirurgical management can be began. The operative difficulty is consecutive to the connection with the VII nerve