Platysma Sign: A Feature of Extra-capsular Spread

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Head and Neck Surgery
• Clinical Medicine

Background:

• Metastatic cervical lymphadenopathy is a common presentation in head and neck cancers.
• Assessing the extent of lymph node infiltration is critical for treatment planning and prognosis.
• The Platysma sign is a clinical observation related to neck masses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the clinical significance of the Platysma sign in patients with metastatic cervical lymph nodes.
• To correlate the presence of the Platysma sign with extracapsular spread and patient prognosis.

Main Methods:

• Case presentation of a 60-year-old gentleman with neck swelling.
• Clinical examination to identify infiltration of the platysma muscle.
• Diagnosis of metastatic cervical lymph node.

Main Results:

• The patient presented with a large neck swelling diagnosed as a metastatic cervical lymph node.
• The lymph node infiltrated the platysma muscle, causing partial contracture, consistent with the Platysma sign.
• The presence of the Platysma sign was noted.

Conclusions:

• The Platysma sign indicates extracapsular spread of metastatic cervical lymph nodes.
• The presence of the Platysma sign is associated with a poor prognosis in head and neck cancer patients.
• Clinical identification of the Platysma sign aids in prognostic assessment.