Objective: To investigate the diagnostic distribution of neck masses treated surgically at our clinic and also to discuss the clinical presentation and histological finding of these pathologies.

Material and Method: We retrospectively reviewed the records (age, sex, clinical presentation and histological findings) of 201 patients who presented at our clinic with neck masses between 2006 and 2010.

Results: Of the 201 patients, 98 (48.75%) were classified as inflammatory masses, 67 (33.33%) as neoplastic neck masses, and 36 (17.91%) as congenital neck masses. The mean age was 27.2±17.2 in patients with inflammatory neck masses and 11.4±4.6 for congenital neck masses. In the neoplastic neck masses group, the mean age was 37.4±11.6 for benign lesions but 49.4±20.6 in malignant lesions.

Conclusion: When a neck mass is seen, neoplasms should be considered in older adults and inflammatory and congenital masses in children and young patients. Although the history, medical examination and additional diagnostic methods provide important information, the exact diagnosis may only be obtained by histopathological examination.