What Exactly Is a Branchial Cyst? Everything To Know about Serena Williams’ Recent Neck Surgery

Noticing a strange lump on your body is always alarming. In the age of Dr. Google and rampant health anxiety, many of us immediately jump to the scariest possibility until proven wrong, which can lead to some anxiety-ridden hours (or days). We can only imagine what Serena Williams thought when she noticed a lump on her neck back in May, but it can’t have been good.

Before you get worried, everything turned out fine for the tennis star. In a TikTok this week, Williams reported that the lump turned out to be a branchial cyst, a type of growth that’s thankfully noncancerous. Still, Williams said in the TikTok, she was “mortified” to notice the lump and immediately made it a priority to get to the doctor, where she got an MRI and a diagnosis.

In the caption, Williams explained that she left the cyst alone for a while, since the doctors told her it wasn’t necessary to remove, “but it kept growing,” she said. Tests and biopsies continued to come back negative, but at this point, Williams’ doctors advised her to get it taken out. “It was the size of a small grapefruit,” Williams wrote, “and it could get infected or worse, leak.”

According to the Cleveland Clinic, branchial cysts are small, fluid-filled sacs that form on the side of your neck. They’re congenital, meaning patients are actually born with them. That’s why they’re often found in children, but they can become visible at any age, which is what happened in Williams’ case. When people develop noticeable branchial cysts later in life, it’s usually because they’re infected, though it sounds like Williams’ cyst hadn’t quite gotten to that point.

Some healthcare providers recommend removing branchial cysts via surgery to “prevent or treat infections or recurrent… swelling,” the Cleveland Clinic notes.

Williams’ surgery went smoothly, she said, but it wasn’t exactly fun. “I went under for it,” she told fans but it still “kinda hurt coming out,” and doctors had to “put a drain in it because [there] was so much [fluid],” she added.

Overall, though, Williams said she was thankful that the procedure went well. “Everything worked out and I feel really happy to have worked with some great doctors,” she said. “A little scare here, but excited to move on to the next steps of healing.”

And it seems like the tennis champ didn’t let the procedure keep her down for long. Later in the video, Williams filmed herself taking her eldest daughter, Olympia, to the American Girl Doll store. “Mommy is suffering, but Mom has to keep showing up,” she told the camera. The plan after that? “I’m gonna go home and pass out!” Sounds like she deserves it.

Before you go, read about these celebs who shared their rare and chronic health issues:

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