Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT160

Introduction: Thyroid ectopy is a rare condition whose pathogenesis remains poorly understood. It may be asymptomatic or manifest as clinical or biological hypothyroidism. We report a case of thyroid ectopy diagnosed at an advanced age.

Case Report: A 63-year-old patient with no previous history of any particular complaint presented with dysphagia and the sensation of an enlarging sublingual formation. Ultrasound showed an empty thyroid cavity with a lesional process at the base of the tongue. The thyroid work-up revealed mild hypothyroidism. The patient underwent a thyroid replacement and then an operation, and an APTH scan showed thyroid ectopy at the base of the tongue.

Discussion: Thyroid ectopy is defined as the presence of thyroid tissue outside its infrahyoid location. The association of thyroid ectopy and a thyroid in a cervical position is exceptional. Lingual thyroids are the largest group of thyroids and have been known for a very long time (VERNEUIL described them for the first time in 1853). Lingual thyroids are the result of a defect in the migration of the median thyroid outline, which normally leads the glandular cells from the floor of the mouth to the anterior surface of the trachea. Radiological investigation is based on cervical ultrasound as the first line of defence, CT with PDC injection or MRI. Tc99 scintigraphy confirms the diagnosis, demonstrating ectopic fixation.

References: 1. These thyroides ectopiques,2015, M. ERREHAN; SFE,2017, Z. Boulbaroud.