Sistrunk’s 1920 description of thyroglossal cyst excision

Specialty: Landmark Case Report, Otolaryngology, Paediatric Surgery

Article Type: Case Report

DOI: 10.1102/1470-5206.2006.9001

Vol 6

pages L1-L2

Sistrunk’s 1920 description of thyroglossal cyst excision

A. M. Balfour, H. M. Al-Reefy and M. G. Dilkes

Correspondence Address: Mr A. M. Balfour, Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, West Smithfield, London, EC1A 7BE, UK.

Email: alistair.balfour@bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk

In 1920 Walter Ellis Sistrunk described the classic operation of thyroglossal cyst excision including the central portion of the hyoid bone and a core of tissue around the thyroglossal tract to open into the oral cavity at the foramen caecum. We present this paper and discuss its relevance to current practice.

Sistrunk's original article was published in Annals of Surgery (Sistrunk WE. The surgical treatment of cysts of the thyroglossal tract. Ann Surg 1920; 71: 121-124). The full article, including figures, is reproduced online here.

Keywords Sistrunk; Sistrunk’s operation; thyroglossal cyst; thyroglossal duct cyst