title: Ectopic intratracheal thyroid: an illustrative case report and literature review.
abstract: A 19-year-old woman was treated with bronchodilators for new-onset dyspnea with exercise. Her symptoms progressively worsened, culminating 4 months later in acute shortness of breath at rest. Flow-volume loops suggested a fixed obstruction and a computed tomography scan of the neck revealed a large subglottic mass. The patient underwent emergent tracheostomy and laryngoscopy and a near-obstructing intratracheal mass was found. Biopsy showed ectopic thyroid tissue. Magnetic resonance imaging of the neck showed a 1.4-cm tracheal lesion and a normally located thyroid gland. The intratracheal mass was resected endoscopically. Pathology revealed hyperplastic ectopic thyroid tissue. The patient has been maintained on thyroid hormone suppression therapy for 2 years without growth of the residual intratracheal thyroid tissue. She recently underwent a surgical palate expansion. We present this case, along with a literature review of ectopic intratracheal thyroid, its epidemiology, possible etiologies, genetic underpinnings, presentation, and treatment. The co-occurrence of an ectopic thyroid, a functioning orthotopic gland, and a high arched palate is also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20007, USA.
authors.forename: Hazel E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Bowen-Wright
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jonklaas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D002828:Choristoma / Q000473:pathology*; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007828:Laryngoscopy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D013961:Thyroid Gland; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014133:Tracheal Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D014139:Tracheostomy