Complete intrathoracic goiter simulating an aneurysm of the ascending aorta; report of a case.

Abstract

Aberrant thyroid tissue is most commonly found in the thorax.1Many case reports have been published about aberrant thyroid tissue, whereas reports of intrathoracic goiters without visible cervical connections are rare. Many of the so-called intrathoracic goiters will be found to have some slight but definite connection within the neck. DeCourcy and Price2reported finding three complete intrathoracic goiters in a series of 1,000 thyroid operations, all of which had some cervical connection. In 1947 Rives3reviewed the English and European literature for the years 1936-1946. He found only 14 cases of intrathoracic goiter. Of these, only two had no cervical connection. Ellis, Good, and Seybold4in 1957 reviewed reports of intrathoracic goiters removed at the Mayo Clinic and found 24 cases on file in which the tumor was removed by routes other than cervical. Only five of these were felt to have