title: Ectopic thyroid tissue in the lower neck with a coexisting normally located multinodular goiter and brief literature review.
abstract: Ectopic thyroid tissue in the lower neck with a coexisting normally located multinodular goiter is a rare entity. We present a 27-year old asymptomatic woman with a recent history of a painless mass in the left side of her lower neck. Thyroid function tests were normal. An ultrasound of her neck showed a multinodular goiter and a 3.4 cm solid mass in the left lower cervical area. These findings were confirmed by an MRI scan of her neck. The Tc99m Pertechnetate scan showed the presence of a functioning area under the left lobe of the thyroid gland. The patient underwent surgery. The cervical mass was identified as a structure separate from the left lobe of the thyroid, without any attachments to the body of the gland and was uniformly resected. A subtotal thyroidectomy was also performed. The histology revealed that the separate structure represented ectopic thyroid tissue. The patient had an uneventful postoperative recovery, subsequent to which she was euthyroid and had normal calcium levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Laparoscopic Surgery, Athens Medical Center, Athens, Greece. lkousta@otenet.gr
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kousta
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Konstantinidis
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Michalakis
authors.forename: Michalis
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vorias
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sambalis
authors.forename: Michalis
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Georgiou
authors.forename: George E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Theodoropoulos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D002828:Choristoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006044:Goiter, Nodular / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D009333:Neck; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013960:Thyroid Function Tests; D013961:Thyroid Gland; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media