What Causes Swollen Mass Between My Trachea And SCM?

Posted on Mon, 14 Apr 2014

Question: Hello Dr. Mintz, I noticed I have a soft swollen mass between my trachea and SCM and just above clavicle on left side. I noticed it when I touched my neck and it was slightly tender. I felt around and noticed the swelling. I've been palpating it a lot in the last hour to see if I can tell what it is. It doesn't hurt. The tenderness was so slight. Any ideas? I am 53 female.

Answered by Dr. Ashish Verma (4 hours later)

Brief Answer: may be a lipoma or a lymph node Detailed Answer: Hi, Thanks for writing to HCM. That swelling can be a lymph node or a lipoma or even a sebaceous cyst. You need to show it to a surgeon for a physical examination and a needle biopsy if he feels so. If that comes out to be a lymph node then he may subject you to a few more tests like a total blood count and may be even a chest xray and may start you on antibiotic to see if that responds to it. Finally he may excise it if no response is there and send it for histopathology. Hope that i have answered to all your queries. If you have further queries, i will be glad to answer them. Regards Dr. Ashish Verma

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj