Lingual thyroid: value of integrated imaging.
Lingual thyroid is an uncommon cause of oropharyngeal mass, due to a congenital anomaly of thyroidal development and migration: It is defined precisely as the presence of thyroid tissue in the midline of the tongue base between circumvallatae papillae and the epiglottis. We report a case of lingual thyroid in which the integration of clinical data, sonography, color-duplex Doppler, MRI and scintigraphy was determinant in demonstrating the disease. A 22-year-old woman presented with a sensation of foreign body in the throat, dysphonia, dyspnoea and dysphagia; we performed sonography (7.5 MHz linear probe), color Doppler (7 MHz Doppler frequency, PRF 3500 Hz) and MRI (1.5 T, spin-echo T1- and T2-weighted images with administration of Gd-DTPA); a scan with 123I demonstrated a relevant uptake at the base of the tongue, but no uptake at the typical thyroid location. The gland was removed and partially transplanted in the strap muscles of the neck.
Giovagnorio
F
F
Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Patologia, Università La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
Cordier
A
A
Romeo
R
R
D000328:Adult; D002828:Choristoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003287:Contrast Media; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D005260:Female; D005682:Gadolinium; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D006801:Humans; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D004369:Pentetic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D013961:Thyroid Gland; D014060:Tongue Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color
D003287:Contrast Media; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D004369:Pentetic Acid; D005682:Gadolinium; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA