Diagnosis and Management of Ectopic Cervical Thymus in Children: Systematic Review of the Literature

Systematic review of 150 ectopic cervical thymus cases reveals this benign condition is rarely diagnosed pre-operatively by imaging (18.7% accuracy). Conservative management may be appropriate for solid masses, but surgeons must verify normal mediastinal thymus presence before excision since ECT represents the only active thymic tissue in 2.5% of cases.