FNAC of Swellings of Head and Neck Region

FNAC is simple, quick, inexpensive and minimally invasive technique used to diagnose different types of swellings located in the head and neck most commonly originate from cervical lymph node, thyroid, parotid and salivary glands. Aims: To assess the frequency of incidences of different sites, age groups, sex and distribution among inflammation and neoplastic lesion. Material and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted between February 2004 to August 2005. Fine needle aspiration diagnosis was correlated with detail of relevant clinical findings and investigations. Patients between the ages of 1 to 80 years were admitted into the study. A total of 100 patients with a head and neck swelling underwent FNAC. Results: Out of 100 fine needle aspiration procedures, 51% were of lymph node, 20% were thyroid, 15% from salivary gland, 08% from soft tissue and 06% were miscellaneous swellings. In Inflammatory swelling(33%), tuberculous lymph node(55%) involvement is common than all other site in the age group of 21 to 30 years (22%) with male preponderance (55%). Conclusions: It is concluded that head and neck swellings are very common conditions encountered. Our study found that FNAC is simple, quick, inexpensive and minimally invasive technique to diagnose different types of head and neck swellings. It could differentiate the infective process from neoplastic one and avoids unnecessary surgeries.