Management Outcome of Adult Thyroglossal Duct Cyst in a General Surgery Tertiary Practice in Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria

Thyroglossal duct cyst (TDC) is a rare condition in adults. This is a report of its presentation and standard treatment with good outcome in adults in a Sub-Saharan tertiary hospital. It is a retrospective review of five adult patients who were managed over a five-year period culled from archived records and casenotes. The three males and two females have a median age of 35 years and a range of 15-74 years. Each of them presented with anterior neck masses while one, in addition, had a painful swelling with a discharging sinus. The median duration of the symptoms was 4.5 years. Four of the cysts were in the infrahyoid location and all the patients had a Sistrunk operation. The median duration of follow-up was six months, without complications. Surgeons need to have a high level of suspicion for this condition in adults.