Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Ectopic thyroid glands are generally a rare entity appearing mostly in the cervical midline (90% of the cases) and even more rarely in other anatomical sites (10%).

Clinical report: We present the case of an ectopic submandibular thyroid gland. A 31-year-old woman was referred to our department with a history of left submandibular swelling.

A scintigraphy was performed, which showed an accumulation of activity in the right submandibular region without any evidence of further thyroid tissue in the normal site.

Preoperative FNA revealed benign ectopic thyroid tissue.

Hormonal laboratory test showed normal thyroid function.

The patient was submitted to resection of the mass. Histological examination of the specimen confirmed the diagnosis.

A substitution treatment with thyroxin was initiated postoperatively, as this was the only functional thyroid tissue.

Conclusion: Physicians should be aware of the possibility that a submandibular swelling could be an ectopic thyroid gland. This entity poses specific diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties. Thorough preoperative diagnostics and resection of the ectopic tissue guarantee a good outcome. Physicians should also consider that this ectopic gland is the only functional thyroid tissue in 70% of cases.