{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,16]],"date-time":"2026-04-16T14:49:32Z","timestamp":1776350972815,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":13,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"4","content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Case Rep"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,30]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>A branchial cleft cyst (BCC) is a neck mass, present from birth, caused by incomplete development of the branchial arches during fetal development. It commonly presents as a solitary, painless mass in the neck of a child or young adult. We present a case of a large intramedullary BCC in a patient with Klippel-Feil syndrome (KFS). A male in his 60s presented with long-lasting neck pain and fast-progressing paraparesis. MRI showed a large intramedullary cystic tumour in the cervicothoracic spine with accompanying cervical diastematomyelia and extensive cervical vertebrae fusion. The patient was operated on from a posterior approach with C6-Th2 laminectomy with neuromonitoring. Gross total resection was achieved. The postoperative period was without complications, and after 3 months, the patient made a full recovery. Based on histopathological examination, a BCC was diagnosed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/bcr-2025-270487","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,16]],"date-time":"2026-04-16T13:55:16Z","timestamp":1776347716000},"page":"e270487","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Branchial cleft cyst of the cervicothoracic spine"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-7176-9219","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Olga","family":"Malik","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Magdalena","family":"Kacperska-Olborska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Regional Hospital of John Paul II in Be\u0142chat\u00f3w, Be\u0142chat\u00f3w, Lodzkie Voivodeship, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"B\u0142a\u017cej","family":"Nowak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neurosurgery Department, Independent Public Specialist Western Hospital John Paul II in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026041606550975000_19.4.e270487.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1053\/j.sempedsurg.2006.02.002"},{"key":"2026041606550975000_19.4.e270487.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/jcp.38.7.784"},{"key":"2026041606550975000_19.4.e270487.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"51","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2273.1982.tb01561.x","article-title":"The definition of branchial cysts, sinuses and fistulae","volume":"7","author":"Howie","year":"1982","journal-title":"Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci"},{"key":"2026041606550975000_19.4.e270487.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/jrnms-15-224"},{"key":"2026041606550975000_19.4.e270487.5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijporl.2011.05.008"},{"key":"2026041606550975000_19.4.e270487.6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"66","DOI":"10.21037\/jss.2019.01.02","article-title":"The prevalence of Klippel-Feil syndrome in pediatric patients: analysis of 831 CT scans","volume":"5","author":"Moses","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Spine Surg"},{"key":"2026041606550975000_19.4.e270487.7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s002470050511"},{"key":"2026041606550975000_19.4.e270487.8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"E798","DOI":"10.1097\/01.brs.0000239222.36505.46","article-title":"Classification of congenitally fused cervical patterns in Klippel-Feil patients: epidemiology and role in the development of cervical spine-related symptoms","volume":"31","author":"Samartzis","year":"1976","journal-title":"Spine (Phila Pa 1986)"},{"key":"2026041606550975000_19.4.e270487.9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/humu.20741"},{"key":"2026041606550975000_19.4.e270487.10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2156-14-95","article-title":"Mutation in MEOX1 gene causes a recessive Klippel-Feil syndrome subtype","volume":"14","author":"Bayrakli","year":"2013","journal-title":"BMC Genet"},{"key":"2026041606550975000_19.4.e270487.11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"220","DOI":"10.1186\/s12891-020-03229-x","article-title":"The mutational burden and oligogenic inheritance in Klippel-Feil syndrome","volume":"21","author":"Li","year":"2020","journal-title":"BMC Musculoskelet Disord"},{"key":"2026041606550975000_19.4.e270487.12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"601","DOI":"10.1111\/joa.12516","article-title":"Developmental dynamics of occipital and cervical somites","volume":"229","author":"Maschner","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Anat"},{"key":"2026041606550975000_19.4.e270487.13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1246","DOI":"10.2106\/00004623-197456060-00018","article-title":"Klippel-Feil syndrome; 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