Neck masses that appear only on straining are rare in children and should be differentiated between laryngoceles, superior mediastinal tumors or cysts and jugular phlebectasia. The latter being an abnormal fusiform or saccular dilatation of the jugular vein. We report a case of external jugular phlebectasia in a healthy child. A variety of ethiological hypotheses have been proposed: anatomic abnormality of the vein, mechanical compression of the brachiocephalic vein, acquired lesion of the vein and idiopathic. Most patients are asymptomatic, the diagnosis can be established clinically and confirmed by imaging studies. Conservative or surgery management will be chosen according to the symptoms.
phlebectasia; children; jugular vein
