[The sonography of laryngeal cysts]

To evaluate the sonographic appearance of laryngeal cysts, ultrasound examinations of 7 patients were evaluated retrospectively. The ultrasound studies were correlated with endoscopic findings. In two cases, the diagnosis was confirmed histologically, and in 4 patients, a CT examination was additionally performed. The endolaryngeal space could be well seen if the thyroid cartilage was not calcified (n = 6), whereas in one patient, the endolaryngeal part of the cyst could not be seen because of complete calcification of the thyroid cartilage. The laryngeal cysts presented as unechoic (n = 4) or hypoechoic (n = 3) masses, which demonstrated smooth margins in all cases and ranged in size from 6 to 38 mm. In three cases, the cyst was located in the endolaryngeal space, and in 4 cases, it extended cranial of the thyroid cartilage into the pre-epiglottic space. All cysts were closely related to the inner surface of the thyroid cartilage, from which they were delineated by a thin hyperechoic band in all cases.