A rare case of Reidel thyroiditis with associated vocal cord paralysis: CT and MR imaging features

Reidel thyroiditis is extremely rare and not only involves the thyroid gland but usually extends to neighboring structures in the neck. A rare complication of this disease is entrapment of the recurrent laryngeal nerve causing a vocal cord paralysis. In fact, to our knowledge, this is likely the only benign thyroid disease to cause such a paralysis. We present a case of a 57-year-old woman with Reidel thyroiditis and a recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis. The CT and MR imaging features are presented as well as a brief review of this disease.