Sternocleidomastoid innervation from an aberrant nerve arising from the hypoglossal nerve: a prospective study of 160 neck dissections.

Background: Anatomical variants of the spinal root of the accessory nerve and cervical plexus are well known but other variants are exceptionally rare.

Methods: A prospective study of 160 selective neck dissections was undertaken following an index case, where a presumed C1 nerve (travelling with the hypoglossal nerve) was found to innervate sternocleidomastoid (SCM). A search was subsequently made for this variant while not compromising the neck dissection surgery itself.

Spontaneous rupture of an internal laryngocele after neck dissection: a rare complication.

We present a rare, and to the best of our knowledge, previously unreported complication of the spontaneous rupture of an internal laryngocele after a routine neck dissection for metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. While this caused some diagnostic confusion, the patient was managed conservatively with no further complications.