Struma cordis in young male—a rare entity with excellent prognosis

Abstract

During embryogenesis, defective movement of thyroid tissue from the floor of the primitive foregut to the pretracheal region leads to ectopic thyroid, most commonly found around the course of the thyroglossal duct or sometimes laterally in the neck. Very rarely, ectopic thyroid at distant sites, e.g., in the thorax (mediastinal, lung, heart) or in the abdomen (ovary, adrenal, duodenal, pancreas, and intestine) are reported. Thyroid function in all these cases has been reported to vary from euthyroid, hypothyroid to hyperthyroid. We are here presenting a rare case of ectopic thyroid in the heart (Struma cordis), within the right ventricular cavity attached to the interventricular septum at the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT), i.e., on the tricuspid valve and adjacent intraventricular septum in a male subject (male to female ratio as M/F 1:6). This case is worth reporting because of the rarity regarding the location, male sex, and the involvement of the tricuspid valve.