Sclerotherapy of Branchial Cleft Cysts Using OK-432

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: OK-432 has been widely used to treat lymphangioma and ranula; however, there are few studies for its use in treatment of branchial cleft cyst (BCC). We conducted this study to evaluate the effectiveness of sclerotherapy using OK-432 in treatment of BCC. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Case series with planned data collection. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: From 2004 to 2007, we treated 23 patients with BCC using OK-432 sclerotherapy. Of these 23 patients, 18 had unilocular cysts and five had multilocular cysts. The sizes of the BCCs were measured and compared before and after treatment. RESULTS: Of the 23 cases, 14 (60.8%) showed complete regression; all of these were unilocular cysts. Of the remaining individuals with unilocular cysts, only one patient failed to show any response. This individual subsequently underwent surgical excision. A total of five patients with multilocular cysts showed no or partial response and subsequently underwent surgical excision. Minor adverse effects including fever and local pain were reported by 13 (56.5%) patients. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that sclerotherapy using OK-432 is an effective and safe treatment modality for BCC, especially for unilocular cysts. Sclerosing of unilocular BCC with OK-432 should therefore be considered before surgical excision.