Endoscopic surgery for lateral cervical cysts. A report of three cases

Recently, endoscopic surgery has been applied to cervical exploration. We have developed new techniques for endoscopic neck surgery, and in this paper report our experience with three patients with lateral cervical cysts. A 5- or 10-mm midline trocar for the endoscope and two 5- or 10-mm lateral trocars were inserted from the anterior chest wall and/or both axillary fossae to avoid neck scars. There were no intraoperative complications. Slight subcutaneus emphysema was present postoperatively, but it was limited to the neck and disappeared in a few days. The incisions were completely covered by the patients' undergarments. This is the first report of endoscopic lateral cervical cystectomy.