Mediastinal neurenteric cysts in children: A case series

Abstract

Introduction: Foregut duplication cysts along with vertebral anomalies are called neurenteric cyst. About 30 cases have been reported in the literature so far. Posterior mediastinal neurenteric cysts are very rare and few studies could be found in the literature even after extensive search. Due to this rarity we are prompted to present 7 cases of posterior mediastinal neurenteric cysts to further add on to the literature. Material and Methods: All details regarding patients with neurenteric cysts who underwent surgery, in the department of paediatric surgery from 2010 to 2015 were gathered from patient case files. Results: There were 7 patients with neurenteric cyst including 3 males and 4 females with an age range of 4 months to 8 years. The most common presentation was recurrent respiratory infection. In two cases, patients also suffered from dysphasia. In 5 cases there were right sided cysts while two had cyst on left side in posterior mediastinum. In 2 cases the cysts extended to the abdomen while one patient had separate ileal duplication cyst. Another case had mediastinal cyst which had a communication with ileum. All the mediastinal cysts were excised through posterior thoracotomy and subsequently confirmed on histopathology. Conclusion: When considering the differential diagnosis of mediastinal cysts in children, neurenteric cysts should be in mind.

Keywords

• mediastinal
• neurenteric cyst
• paediatric