title: Ectopic thymus presenting as neck mass.
abstract: A 3-month-old girl presented with an asymptomatic soft tissue mass in the right neck. Her preoperative data were normal. CECT of the neck showed a 3-cm solid mass with homogeneous mild enhancement without mass effect. CECT of the thorax showed a normal thymus. MR images showed a right submandibular mass with signal intensity identical to that of the mediastinal thymus. Although it was difficult to make a correct preoperative diagnosis, surgical microscopic examination demonstrated normal thymic tissue. Because ectopic thymus can occasionally present with life-threatening symptoms, and malignant transformations have been documented, complete excision of cervical ectopic thymus was advocated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Osaka Medical College.
authors.forename: Yoshiteru
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kakuno
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsuki
authors.forename: Isamu
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Narabayashi
mesh_terms: D002828:Choristoma; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009333:Neck; D013364:Submandibular Gland Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D013950:Thymus Gland; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed