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Case Reports
. 2008 Jun;23(3):548-50.
doi: 10.3346/jkms.2008.23.3.548.

A case of an ectopic thyroid gland at the lateral neck masquerading as a metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma

Jae-Young Choi  1 , Jeong-Hoon Kim
Affiliations
Case Reports

A case of an ectopic thyroid gland at the lateral neck masquerading as a metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma

Jae-Young Choi et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2008 Jun.

Abstract

Ectopic thyroid glands generally occur in the midline as a result of abnormal median migration, and their presence lateral to the midline is rare. We present one case of an ectopic thyroid gland masquerading as a lateral neck metastasis of a papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). In this case of a 54-yr-old woman with left PTC, we suspected left lateral neck metastasis on preoperative neck computed tomography. The patient underwent total thyroidectomy, central compartment neck dissection, and left modified radical neck dissection (MRND). The patient was diagnosed as having an accessory thyroid gland on the lateral neck on the final pathologic report. Surgeons should be aware of the existence of an ectopic thyroid gland in unusual locations.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
CT scan of the head and neck shows two enhancing masses (A) at level II and (B) III of lateral neck with calcifications, and a calcified nodule of the left thyroid lobe.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The masses of level II and III were a homogeneous pink color with features of calcification and cystic change.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
(A) The pathologic diagnosis of the nodule at the left lobe of the thyroid was a follicular variant papillary thyroid carcinoma without capsular invasion (×400). (B) The masses at the left lateral neck were ectopic thyroid tissue with hyperplastic pattern (×200).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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