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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · World J Nucl Med 2020; 19(04): 336-340
DOI: 10.4103/wjnm.WJNM_44_20
Review Article

Dual thyroid ectopia: A pictorial case series and review of literature

Ashok Kumar
Department of Nuclear Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttrakhanad
,
Tejasvini Singhal
Department of Nuclear Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttrakhanad
,
Sai Krishna
1   Department of Nuclear Medicine, Sri Venkateshwara Institute of Medical Sciences, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India
,
Manishi Narayan
Department of Nuclear Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttrakhanad
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Abstract

Ectopic thyroid (ET) is a developmental anomaly of the thyroid gland with the presence of thyroid tissue at sites other than the normal cervical location anterior to second and third tracheal ring due to abnormal migration of the gland. It may be found along the path of descent of the developing thyroid primordium from the foramen caecum to the isthmus of the thyroid and up to the base of the diaphragm. Dual thyroid ectopia, where ET tissue is simultaneously present at two different abnormal locations, is a very rare developmental defect. Only a few cases have been reported worldwide. ET is predominantly seen in females and during puberty when the hormonal demand is high. Patients with ET may remain asymptomatic or present with swelling in the neck, symptoms such as dysphagia, dysphonia, dyspnea, and features of hypothyroidism. The diagnosis is usually made on clinical examination, laboratory tests, imaging studies, and cytology. Careful clinical evaluation is essential as ET may be the only functioning thyroid tissue. Thyroid scintigraphy is an important imaging tool and the gold standard for the diagnosis of ET tissue, as it has high sensitivity and specificity. Early and accurate diagnosis of ET is essential to start hormone replacement and avoid unnecessary surgery. The authors report here a series of four patients with dual ET tissue, diagnosed on thyroid scintigraphy.

Keywords

Dual ectopic thyroid - dual thyroid ectopia - ectopic thyroid tissue - 99mTc-pertechnetate scintigraphy

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.




Publication History

Received: 27 April 2020

Accepted: 10 May 2020

Article published online:
19 April 2022

© 2020. Sociedade Brasileira de Neurocirurgia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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