Ectopic thyroid presenting as a submandibular mass

Abstract

Although extremely rare, the presence of ectopic thyroid tissue in the submandibular region should be considered in the differential diagnosis of tissue masses in the cervical region. Diagnosis is confirmed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy and exclusion of malignancy should be confirmed by histopathologic analysis of the lesion. In general, surgery is the treatment of choice. A rare case of ectopic thyroid in the right submandibular region is reported; it was diagnosed after total thyroidectomy and successfully treated through surgery.

Fig. 1

Scintigraphy with 99mTc-Pertechnetate in anterior projection of cervical region revealing uptake in the right submandibular region (arrow), corresponding to the anatomical location of the palpable nodule and on the neck midline, suggesting functioning thyroid tissues

Fig. 2

Scintigraphies in anterior projection of cervical region, showing uptake in the right submandibular region and in neck midline, corresponding to anatomical location of palpable nodules. a Scintigraphy with 99mTc-Pertechnetate. b Scintigraphy with iodine-131

Fig. 3

Fine-needle aspiration biopsy of right lateral cervical mass, showing a cytologic picture consistent with thyroid tissue (hematoxylin-eosin, original magnification 40×)

Fig. 4

Photomicrograph of surgical specimen from submandibular region. Thyroid tissue showing different sizes of follicles with no signs of malignancy (hematoxylin-eosin, original magnification 20×)