Lateral cervical ectopic thyroid masses with eutopic multinodular goiter: an unusual presentation

Multiple thyroid ectopia with a normally located thyroid gland is a very rare condition. We present a 34-year old Nigerian woman who had had anterior and left-sided lateral neck swellings for the past 15 years. She was clinically euthyroid and thyroid function test results were normal. Neck ultrasonography revealed multinodular goiter with extension to the left pre-auricular area. Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) was negative for malignancy. She underwent sub-total thyroidectomy and complete excision of three distinct lateral neck masses. Histopathology of the four tissue specimens showed that they were adenomatous goiter without evidence of malignancy. Benign, multiple, laterally located ectopic goiter in the neck can co-exist with normally located multinodular goiter. We report the first case of three ectopic thyroid tissues in the lateral neck co-existing with a normally located multinodular goiter. Although this entity is rare, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of multiple neck masses.