Submental dermoid cyst

Case contributed by Fakhry Mahmoud Ebouda
Diagnosis probable

Presentation

Anterior midline neck mass slowly enlarging since childhood.

Patient Data

Age: 30 years
Gender: Male
ct

A well-circumscribed midline thin-walled cystic lesion within the submental triangle. It measures 4.2 x 3.5 x 3.5 cm (AP x TR x CC) in maximum three dimensions. It has a relatively high-density dependent contents and a posterior wall focus of calcification and no appreciable post-contrast enhancement. Appearance in keeping with complicated dermoid/epidermoid cyst.

mri

A well-defined midline  thin-walled cystic lesion is seen within the submental space. It lies below the mylohyoid muscle and away from genioglossus and geniohyoid muscles, so no effect on the tongue or soft palate. It elicits diffuse homogeneous low T1W signal, high T2W signal with no drop on fat-saturation protocols or diffusion restriction as ADC shows shine-through effect. It shows uniform marginal wall enhancement in the post-contrast study. This cystic appearance has no internal septa, abnormal nodules or soft tissue.

Case Discussion

Midline cystic lesion if above the geniohyoid muscle is a sublingual swelling that will displace the tongue with consequent difficulty in eating and speaking. If the midline cystic swelling lies below the geniohyoid and mylohyoid muscles will be a submental swelling and causes double chin appearance.    

How to use cases

You can use Radiopaedia cases in a variety of ways to help you learn and teach.

Creating your own cases is easy.

Updating… Please wait.

 Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.

 Thank you for updating your details.