Ectopic goiters of the mediastinum: Presentation of two cases and review of the literature

Abstract

Two cases of ectopic goiters located in the anterior mediastinum are presented. These comprise 5.1 per cent of our cases of intrathoracic goiters and 1.3 per cent of mediastinal tumors. These benign tumors have been rarely reported in the literatures, however, excision by thoracotomy is the surgical procedure advocated for these cases and the diagnosis is generally established operatively. Angiography and tomography have proved useful in diagnosing and localising these lesions prior to the surgical procedure.

A rare case of double ectopic thyroid in the superior mediastinum: a case report

“…Patients asymptomatic were usually found incidentally via imaging [ 14 ]. Compressive symptoms by the mass may occur [ 3 , 15 ]. Cytologic results demonstrated an ETT, and, if not, our differential diagnosis would be to rule out thymoma and malignant lymphoma [ 2 ].…”

A Case of Ectopic Thyroid Presenting as a Superior Mediastinal Mass

“…Complaints related to mediastinal ectopic thyroids are often asymptomatic, and those masses were often incidentally found via imaging modalities [ 9 ]. Symptoms associated with compression of surrounding tissue by the mass may occur, and cases with dyspnea and cough have been reported in the literature [ 3 , 19 ]. In the present case, the mass slightly compressed the trachea, and the patient suffered from a chronic cough; however, it gradually improved and disappeared at the time of surgery, and was therefore judged to be different from the symptom associated with the mass.…”

“…In the present case, the ectopic thyroid in the mediastinum was not connected with the orthotopic thyroid gland, and the blood flow was supplied from the thorax sides, which was demonstrated both on the CT image and in intraoperative findings. It has been reported that sternotomy or thoracotomy is essential for the removal of a mediastinal ectopic goiter, which receives blood flow from the thorax; therefore, in most of the cases, surgical resection was performed through sternotomy or thoracotomy [ 3 , 4 , 6 , 12 , 14 - 17 , 19 ]. However, there have been some reports of mediastinum ectopic thyroids resected only through a cervical incision, but in all cases, concomitant resection of the orthotopic thyroids was performed [ 7 - 9 ].…”

Non-elevation of TSH after total thyroidectomy: a surgical surprise

“…The anatomic growth of germinal nuclei in the thyroglossal duct fixing to a cardiopericardiac mass is presumed to be one of the reasons for occurrence of these rests 3. In a study conducted by Sackett et al ,2 TTR was classified into four grades based on the anatomical relationship with the lower pole of the thyroid gland.…”