Purpose: This procedure for thyroglossal duct cyst operation based on pathological studies was first published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery in 1992. This procedure is similar to Sistrunk's operation except that the core depth of the tongue excision is more shallow (about 5 mm in young children). The purpose of this report is to report and evaluate the clinical results of this operation compared with our earlier operative results.
Methods: Eighty-three patients underwent surgery for thyroglossal duct cyst from 1970 to 1997. They were divided into 3 groups. Group I consisted of 31 patients undergoing Schlange's operation (1970 to 1988). Group II were 18 patients undergoing Sistrunk's operation (1989 to 1990). Group III consisted of 34 patients operated on with the authors' procedure (1991 through 1997). The 3 groups are compared for recurrence rate.
Results: Recurrence in group I was 6 of 31 (19.3%), 1 of 18 (5.6%) in group II, and 1 of 34 (2.9%) in group III. The recurrence rate showed a statistically significant difference only between group I and III (P = .033).
Conclusion: The recurrence rate with our procedure was not higher than that of Sistrunk's operation but was significantly lower than for Schlange's operation.