Tongue Base Ectopic Thyroid Tissue—Is It a Rare Encounter?

Abstract

Failure in the embryological development of the thyroid in adults is rarely seen. We present the case of a 79-year-old female patient who complained of dysphagia and progressive upper respiratory obstruction, which started 12 months prior to her admission. An ENT clinical exam revealed a tongue base, spherical, well-defined tumour covered by normal mucosa. Further assessments established the diagnosis of the tongue base ectopic thyroid tissue. Due to the patient’s symptoms, a transhyoid tongue base tumour removal was performed. The selected patient gave consent for participation and inclusion in this paper, in compliance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration.

Keywords

• tongue base
• ectopic thyroid tissue
• dysphagia
• upper airway obstruction