Abstract
IntroductionEctopic thyroid tissue may appear in any location along the trajectory of the thyroglossal duct from the foramen cecum to the mediastinum. Rarely, there is incomplete descent of the gland where the final resting point may be high resulting in sublingual ectopic thyroid tissue. Ectopic thyroid tissue carries a low risk of malignancy. Most recently reported neoplasms in ectopic thyroid tissue have been papillary carcinoma of thyroid. Individual case reports of clear cell type of follicular adenoma within the ectopic thyroid tissue have been described in the literature.Case presentationWe present a rare case of microfollicular follicular adenoma in an ectopic sublingual thyroid tissue presenting as submental swelling in a euthyroid 24-year-old Dravidian woman.ConclusionFindings in this case emphasize that when confronted with a submental/sublingual mass lesion, the evaluation of thyroid function tests and ultrasonography of the neck should be included in a pre-operative workup.
Highlights
Ectopic thyroid tissue may appear in any location along the trajectory of the thyroglossal duct from the foramen cecum to the mediastinum
Ectopic thyroid tissue (ETT) is a rare developmental abnormality involving aberrant embryogenesis of the thyroid gland during its passage from the floor of the primitive foregut to its final pretracheal position
There is incomplete descent of the gland where the final resting point may be high resulting in sublingual ETT
Summary
Ectopic thyroid tissue (ETT) may appear in any location along the trajectory of the thyroglossal duct from the foramen cecum to the mediastinum. On examination, she was averagely built with a pulse rate of 78/minute and a blood pressure of 100/70mmHg. On local examination, a swelling was seen in her left submental region measuring 4.0×3.0cm (Figure 1a). An encapsulated tumor during excision appeared to be attached to the upper border of her hyoid bone (Figure 1b). It was excised and submitted for surgical pathology examination. Sections examined showed an encapsulated tumor composed of cells arranged in microfollicular, glandular and trabecular patterns. The surrounding adjacent tissue showed nonneoplastic normal-looking thyroid follicles containing abundant colloid (Figure 3). She was advised thyroxine replacement therapy and was euthyroid after 6 months of follow up
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