Papillary Carcinoma of Thyroglossal Cyst with Thyroid Hemiagenesis: Is Conservative Surgical Management Enough?

Abstract

We describe a case of papillary carcinoma in a thyroglossal cyst with left hemiagenesis of the thyroid gland in a 24-year-old female patient. We opted not to perform a total thyroidectomy as the patient was at low risk for aggressive disease. In this article we review the criteria for selection of thyroidectomy in incidentally discovered papillary carcinomas after thyroglossal cyst excision and management protocol in case of coexisting thyroid hemi-agenesis. To our knowledge, this case represents the second case report of an association between left thyroid hemiagenesis and thyroglossal duct cyst papillary carcinoma.