Ectopic intrapulmonary follicular adenoma diagnosed by surgical resection

Ectopic intrapulmonary thyroid tissue is extremely rare and considerably difficult to diagnose without surgery. Ectopic thyroid tissue, described as a mediastinal tumor, and intrapulmonary lesions are infrequent. An abnormal shadow was detected upon chest X-ray in a 60-year old woman with a history of benign thyroid goiter. A computed tomography scan revealed a solitary nodule measuring 27 mm in diameter in the left lower lobe, the diameter of which had increased by 5 mm since initial observation eight years ago. A thoracoscopic wedge resection was performed and the lesion was determined to be a non-invasive, soft-tissue tumor. It was pathologically diagnosed as an ectopic thyroid follicular adenoma. The course of the tumor was uneventful. A diagnosis of ectopic intrapulmonary thyroid should be made cautiously and only after ruling out metastasis of a follicular adenoma or thyroid carcinoma. This diagnosis of ectopic thyroid tissue was made possible by the surgical approach.