Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe the a novel technique for treatment of symptomatic lingual thyroid in children using bipolar radiofrequency plasma ablation. METHOD: Case report. RESULTS: A 10 year old female with an 8 year history of a base of tongue mass presented after two months of increasing size and symptoms of dysphagia. Diagnosis of lingual thyroid (and only functional thyroid tissue) was confirmed by thyroid scan. Resection was performed by transoral endoscopic radiofrequency ablation. Intraoperatively, the total blood loss was 20 cc and time for the procedure was less than 60 minutes. The patient was extubated immediately and tolerated a regular diet and was discharged home within 24 hours. Postoperative followup at 3 months showed complete resolution of symptoms with no change in thyroid function. CONCLUSION: Radiofrequency ablation provides a simple, safe, and effective technique for removal of symptomatic lingual thyroid tissue. Additionally, by avoiding complete resection of the entire mass, RF ablation allows for reduction in symptoms without complete removal of all functional thyroid tissue, so patients are less likely to experience postoperative hypothyroidism and require thyroid hormone replacement. This technique provides significant advantages in simplicity and decreasing patient morbidity over traditional approaches to surgical resection of lingual thyroid tissue.
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