PARATHYROID cysts are an uncommon cause of masses in the neck, which require surgical intervention. Since Goris1 described the first case in 1905, only 56 have been reported in the world literature to date2-28 (Table). In the surgical experience of the Northwestern University Medical Center, four clinically apparent parathyroid cysts have been diagnosed and excised, two of which have been previously reported.17 This paper will report two additional cases, as well as summarize the pertinent data of this unusual lesion and review the literature.
Report of Cases
Case 1.
—A 68-year-old white woman was first admitted to Chicago Wesley Memorial Hospital on Nov 4, 1964. She had noticed a "lump in her neck" while looking in the mirror five months prior to admission. She consulted her physician who told her that she had a nodule in her thyroid gland. Since that time, she had noted an intermittent,