I wanted to write this post about branchial remnants in order to help worried new mums out there who might be facing this issue. 20 months ago I was one of those extremely worried and anxious mums, longing for some info. There is very little accessible info in plain language about this on line. I want to tell my story in the hope it would help others. My second DD was born 20 months ago after a normal pregnancy and I have noticed a small lump on the right side of her neck very soon after birth, while still in hospital. She was seen by 3 different doctors in the hospital right after birth and each said a different thing. Two paediatricians dismissed it as a fatty lump and only the third doctor, who was a young surgeon said “google branchial cleft remnant”... I googled it right then and there and my heart sank. Now, later I have discovered that there is a difference between a “branchial cleft cyst” and a “branchial remnant”, the latter being the easier case, which is mainly an aesthetic problem, which is what we had. The cysts and the clefts are the more complicated cases, but you can’t really know for sure what you are dealing with until you are seen by a doctor who specialises it those things. The problem is all of these branchial anomalies are quite rare and most gps and paediatricians aren’t really familiar with them (on our 6 weeks gp check our gp wanted to squeeze it out, claiming it’s just a fatty cyst, which it was not! And it can’t be squeezed out). Also, just to mention that during my pregnancy I had many ultrasound checks, both nhs and private ones and this was not seen at all on any of the scans. To cut a long story short - dear mums, don’t panic. This usually is not dangerous and can be surgically fixed! I know it sounds horrifying that your baby might need surgery, but it wasn’t as horrible as it sounds. We were offered this on the nhs at the hospital where DD was born, but I preferred to choose my surgeon and after some research I found a children’s ent surgeon at GOSH that specialised in such operations (Mr Benjamin Hartley) and asked my gp for a referral to him. My DD had her operation when she was 18mo and now we are 2 months post op and feeling just fine. The team at GOSH were just amazing, and even though I was just terrified of the thought about the general anaesthetic it all went smoothly and very efficiently. In less than an hour my baby was out of surgery and three hours later she was bouncing around her hospital room as happy as ever. Now all that is left from this ordeal is just a small, flat, pink scar on her neck that is supposed to fade over time. So, that’s our story. If you need any advice on this matter you are welcome to PM me, as I know how scary and lonely this situation might feel, and I’d be glad to help with some encouragement and advice to the best of my knowledge (just remember that I am not a medical professional, just a dotting mum who’s been through this). Hope this helps. Stay safe and well everyone!