Idiopathic fibrosis of the lateral compartment of the neck.

We report a case of idiopathic fibrosis of the lateral compartment of the neck. Twenty-four years after the onset of swelling of the neck 14 years after biopsy, the patient remains only mildly sympatomatic. Histologically, it appears to be a homologue of the other idiopathic fibrosing syndromes such as retroperitoneal fibrosis, mediastinal fibrosis, sclerosing cholangitis, fibrosis of the orbit, and Riedel's struma.