An unusual midline swelling--case report of a cutaneous bronchogenic cyst

Cutaneous bronchogenic cyst remains a very rare cause of a midline swelling in children. The authors report a case of a 14-month-old boy who presented with a sternal sinus and consequent abscess. Histopathological analysis revealed this to be a cutaneous bronchogenic cyst. This is a very rare lesion with only 65 cases reported in the literature. It is caused by an abnormal development in the distal tracheobronchial tree, and diagnosis is confirmed by ciliated and mucin-producing pseudostratified columnar epithelium of respiratory type on histopathological analysis. It is managed by resection of the cyst, as these cysts are often foci for subsequent infections and malignant potential has been reported.