Intramuscular myxoma of the cervical paraspinal musculature: case report and review of the literature

CaseA 57 year old female patient presented with a painful right-sided neck mass that on MRI was shown to be adherent to the posterior aspect of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. The mass was surgically resected en bloc without complications. Histopathologic analysis revealed the mass to be a myxoma.ReviewTo date, there have been several case reports of myxomas, although very few involving the head or neck. The majority of the literature available concurs that myxomas are benign neoplasms that exhibit characteristic qualities on MRI imaging. The definitive treatment by consensus is surgical excision.ConclusionsAlthough the incidence of head and neck myxomas is low, it is important to include in the differential of a neck mass with certain radiographic findings.