Minimally invasive treatment of pediatric head and neck dermoids: percutaneous drainage and radiofrequency coblation

BACKGROUND: Dermoids are common benign head and neck cysts in children containing a variety of different skin elements. Current standard treatment is surgical removal that sometimes requires extensive dissection to ensure complete resection and often leaves unwanted facial scarring. A minimally invasive treatment alternative should offer a similar rate of success with a decrease in operative complexity, recovery time and postoperative scarring. OBJECTIVE: To assess the outcomes of our minimally invasive percutaneous treatment of head and neck dermoids, we reviewed our 9-year interventional radiology (IR) department experience. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The medical records, imaging and procedural details were reviewed from a cohort of pediatric patients with dermoids treated in our IR department from January 2009 through February 2018. Patients in the study underwent ultrasound (US)-guided cyst puncture, 3% Sotradecol (sodium tetradecyl sulfate [STS]) emulsification of the thick cyst contents allowing complete drainage, and radiofrequency coblation of the cyst wall. RESULTS: In this retrospective study, we report on 22 dermoids in 21 patients. The average patient age was 3 years. Twenty-one of the 22 dermoids were successfully treated for an overall success rate of 95%. Four intraosseous dermoids were successfully treated using computed tomography (CT) guidance instead of, or in addition to, US. Average follow-up time was 22 months. CONCLUSION: The combination of percutaneous cyst drainage using STS as an emulsifying agent followed by radiofrequency coblation is a safe, effective, minimally invasive treatment for pediatric patients with head and neck dermoids.