Management of suspected thyroglossal duct cysts

In the recent article by Povey et al., the authors present a retrospective series of patients with midline neck masses, suspected to be thyroglossal duct cysts [1]. The authors conclude that preoperative ultrasound should be performed in all patients with an anterior midline neck mass. The premise is that an underlying normal thyroid should be identified prior to surgery. That is an old surgical dictum that should be dispelled. In the past, thyroid scans were performed on all these patients for the same rationale.