Ectopic thyroid tissue surrounding the right laryngeal nerve: a case report.

Ectopic thyroid tissue (ETT) is a rare developmental anomaly of the thyroid tissue which is defined as the presence of thyroid tissue in locations other than the pretracheal area. However, ectopic thyroid tissue in the lateral neck surrounding the recurrent laryngeal nerve is unusually found. Here we describe a case of a 64-year-old woman who was found bilateral thyroid goiter by the ultrasound examination. The total thyroidectomy plus a modified radical neck dissection was performed. Surprisingly we also found a nodule surrounding the right recurrent laryngeal nerve at the same time. Nevertheless the diagnosis of the nodule was confirmed by pathology and Histologic examination demonstrating that it was ectopic thyroid tissue. Ectopic thyroid tissue surrounding recurrent laryngeal nerve is a rare finding, with hardly any cases reported. For it is generally thought that any thyroid tissue found in the lateral aspect of the neck may indicate metastatic deposits from well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Although pathogenesis of ectopic thyroid tissue surrounding recurrent laryngeal nerve without any symptoms remains unknown, our case could suggest ectopic thyroid tissue should not be excluded in the differential diagnosis of lateral neck masses especially when the recurrent laryngeal nerves were surrounded by the nodules.