Branchial cleft anomalies: a review of 87 cases treated at the Toronto General Hospital.

The embryology, anatomy and pathology of branchial cleft anomalies are discussed and 87 cases reviewed.The most frequent anomaly was branchial cleft cyst, of which there were 77 cases. Treatment in all cases consisted of complete excision.There were five cases of external branchial sinus and five cases of complete branchial fistula. Sinograms were helpful in demonstrating these lesions. Excision presented little difficulty.No proved case of branchiogenic carcinoma has been found in the Toronto General Hospital. Five cases are described in which the original diagnosis was branchiogenic carcinoma-in four of these a primary tumour has already been found. The authors believe that the diagnosis of branchiogenic carcinoma should never be accepted until repeated examinations over a period of at least five years have failed to reveal a primary tumour.