Cervical Benign Teratoma: Case Report and Review of Literature

Cervical teratomas are extremely rare germ cell tumours and it is much more common in newborn than adults, and in contrast to the paediatric cases adult teratomas have been highly malignant. Cervical teratoma incorporates lesions arising in the anterior and posterior triangles of the neck. This tumor can reach enormous size and cause airway obstruction and patients should be quickly treated. Surgery is the primary modality of treatment as malignant transformation can occur. Hereby, we present a case of benign teratoma of neck in adult which was completely misdiagnosed preoperatively due to its rare occurrence in adults.Even though cervical teratoma of adult is extremely rare, it should be considered as an important differential diagnosis in patient of midline cystic neck swelling. Preoperative radiological investigations requires high index of suspicion. Complete surgical resection is recommended. We believe that upper cervicotomy approach is a safe and effective method for the treatment of mature cervical teratoma with a few protruding into the superior mediastinum.