What is the cause of fetal cervical cystic hygroma?

Children are innocent, but many of them have congenital or acquired diseases shortly after or before they are born. However, many people do not know what to do. For example, if the fetus has cystic lymphangioma in the neck, this disease is not well known to most people. It is a soft lump in the neck. Let's take a closer look at what cystic hygroma is.

Fetal cystic hygroma is also called fetal lymphatic cystic hygroma.

Lymphatic cystic hygroma is a developmental abnormality of the lymphatic system, which manifests as a thick-walled cyst with multiple partitions inside. It is mostly located on the dorsal side of the head and neck (about 80%), but can also appear on the front, sides and armpits of the neck.

The most common cause is the failure of the cervical lymphatic vessels to connect normally to the internal jugular vein, which results in obstruction of cervical lymphatic return and causes extreme cystic dilatation of the lymphatic vessels, often accompanied by skin edema and serous cavity edema.

Ultrasound can classify cystic hygromas into two types: cystic hygromas with septa and cystic hygromas without septa.

1. Cystic hygroma without septation

The main manifestation is a unilocular cystic mass, which is mostly located on both sides of the anterior neck. It is usually small in size and easily missed.

2. There is a septate hygroma

The typical ultrasound manifestation of this type of cystic hygroma is a multilocular mass with obvious separating light bands inside. Sometimes only a single central separating light band can be seen dividing the cyst into left and right halves. Cysts are generally large and are most commonly seen on the back of the neck, and occasionally on the front of the neck, axillae, and mediastinum.

Patients with septate hygroma accompanied by fetal edema have a very poor prognosis, with an overall mortality rate as high as 80%-90%. Patients with simple hygroma without other abnormalities and normal chromosome karyotype have a better prognosis and can be cured by surgical resection in the neonatal period. If the cystic hygroma occurs late and manifests itself in the late pregnancy, the prognosis is better.

Many diseases like these are better the sooner they are treated, and if they are delayed until later they will become very troublesome. Therefore, if a child feels uncomfortable or has some abnormal symptoms, he or she must seek medical attention in time to avoid delaying the treatment. Usually, you must pay attention to the nutrition of the fetus and provide him with a healthy and safe environment. I hope every baby can grow up healthy and happy.