Adenomatous hyperplastic intratracheal ectopic thyroid tissue: a case report

Abstract

Intratracheal ectopic thyroid (ITET) is a rare disease, with limited cases reported in the literature. ITET is an unusual congenital abnormality and can be easily mistaken for a respiratory illness. We present a case of a 61-year-old man with a history of slight discontinuous hemoptysis for 2 years. A tracheal mass, which appeared to be connected to the left thyroid gland, was found by chest computed tomography scan. Ultrasound revealed one suspiciously malignant, solid and hypoechoic nodule in the left thyroid gland. After the thyroid origin of the mass was confirmed by bronchoscopic biopsy, the patient underwent segmental resection and anastomosis of the trachea, together with left thyroidectomy. Histopathology of the tracheal tumor showed adenomatous hyperplastic ITET, and the orthotopic left thyroid gland showed nodular goiter with atypical adenomatous hyperplasia. Clinical suspicion is warranted in patients presenting with a tracheal tumor seemingly connected to the thyroid gland, particularly in patients who have imaging features suggestive of a malignant tumor in the orthotopic thyroid but without confirmative histopathology of malignancy before surgery.

Benign Intratracheal Thyroid: A Systematic Review of 43 Cases With Five New Case Reports

“…1); two were excluded for not being reported in English, 71 were excluded because of lacking detailed information, two were excluded because being redundant older reports of the same patient, and one was a report of a patient with thyroid cancer with tracheal invasion. Of the remaining 38 reports, all have orthotopic thyroid glands which could be distinguished from “ectopic thyroid.” A summary of the clinical details of the 38 ITT patients are shown in Table I 1,2,4–39 …”

“…Of the remaining 38 reports, all have orthotopic thyroid glands which could be distinguished from “ectopic thyroid.” A summary of the clinical details of the 38 ITT patients are shown in Table I . 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 …”