Anterior Mediastinal Mass: A Rare Presentation of Thyroid Mass Compressing Mediastinal Structures

Abstract

Background: Anterior mediastinum is a very rare site of ectopic thyroid and such cases are usually identified incidentally by radiography. Case presentation: We report a case of a 46 year old Indian female was operated for a mass located in the anterior mediastinum. Diagnosis of thyroid tissue was confirmed by Histopathology section and the mass was resected totally. She died after a month due to multiple complications. Introduction: The anterior mediastinal space is almost a virtual space. However, the multiplicity of the structures it contains and the diversity of disease processes affecting them make it a region of great clinical interest. The anterior mediastinal compartment (also referred to as the anterosuperior compartment) is anterior to the pericardium and includes lymphatic tissue, the thymus, the extra pericardial aorta and its branches. The great veins masses in the anterior compartment are more likely to be malignant than those found in the other mediastinal compartments. Mediastinal masses are commonly encountered in clinical practice. However, they represent a challenging and urgent diagnostic problem because the differential diagnoses range from absolutely benign to a highly malignant condition. Any delay in diagnosis may be fatal. The common anterior masses include thymoma, lymphoma, and germ cell tumours Ectopic mediastinal thyroid is a rare clinical entity [1]. It comprises some 1% of all mediastinal tumors. And because of silent clinical findings, it is difficult to diagnose clinically. Therefore, they remain asymptomatic for many years, until the mass becomes larger in size. The purpose of this paper was to report this case of ectopic thyroid because of its rarity.