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Case Reports
. 2023 Feb 8;59(2):313.
doi: 10.3390/medicina59020313.

Tongue Base Ectopic Thyroid Tissue-Is It a Rare Encounter?

Balica Nicolae Constantin  1   2 , Trandafir Cornelia Marina  1   2 , Stefanescu Horatiu Eugen  1   2 , Enatescu Ileana  3 , Gluhovschi Adrian  4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Tongue Base Ectopic Thyroid Tissue-Is It a Rare Encounter?

Balica Nicolae Constantin et al. Medicina (Kaunas). .

Abstract

Failure in the embryological development of the thyroid in adults is rarely seen. We present the case of a 79-year-old female patient who complained of dysphagia and progressive upper respiratory obstruction, which started 12 months prior to her admission. An ENT clinical exam revealed a tongue base, spherical, well-defined tumour covered by normal mucosa. Further assessments established the diagnosis of the tongue base ectopic thyroid tissue. Due to the patient's symptoms, a transhyoid tongue base tumour removal was performed. The selected patient gave consent for participation and inclusion in this paper, in compliance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration.

Keywords: dysphagia; ectopic thyroid tissue; tongue base; upper airway obstruction.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
70 degrees rigid hypopharyngoscope shows the mass in the sublingual region.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) imaging shows a mass in the sublingual region (arrow).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Intraoperatory imaging (Arrow—Tumor).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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