Prevalence, diagnosis and management of ectopic thyroid glands

Ectopic thyroid tissue (ETT) is an uncommon entity that may be found anywhere along the line of the obliterated thyroglossal duct, usually from the tongue to the diaphragm. We performed a retrospective analysis of patients undergoing surgical treatment for thyroid disease between January 2000 and December 2013, seeking for ETT All patients with prior neck surgery or trauma were excluded. The clinic-pathologic features, prevalence and diagnosis of the lesions were collected and analyzed. Out of 3092 included patients, 28 ETT were identified (0.9%). The anatomical site of ETT was as follows: lateral cervical in 6 (21.4%), along the thyroglossal duct in 6 (21.4%), mediastinal in 5 (17.9%), lingual in 5 (17.9%), sublingual in 3 (10.7%), and submandibular in 3 (10.7%). Histopathology revealed 27 benign lesions and 1 (3.6%) papillary carcinoma. ETT is found in less than 1% of patients receiving thyroid surgery. Diagnosis of ETT requires clinical imaging. Surgery is a prudent choice due to the potential of malignant evolution of ETT.