Case report details surgical intervention for isolated rib metastasis in a male after thyroidectomy, suggesting the need for long-term surveillance.
Follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) is a well-differentiated thyroid malignancy that frequently metastasizes via the bloodstream, particularly to bones and lungs. While skeletal involvement occurs in a minority of cases, isolated rib metastasis is notably uncommon. We report a case of a 48-year-old male who presented with chronic right-sided chest pain, six years following a total thyroidectomy for FTC. Imaging revealed a destructive lesion in the right seventh rib. A combination of chest X-ray, computed tomography (CT), bone scintigraphy, and positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) confirmed the solitary nature of the rib lesion. The patient underwent thoracotomy with en bloc resection of the affected rib. Histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis established the diagnosis of metastatic FTC. Postoperative recovery was uneventful, and the patient was referred for radioactive iodine ablation and thyroid hormone suppression. This case underscores the importance of long-term surveillance in FTC and highlights the role of timely surgical intervention in managing isolated skeletal metastases to achieve optimal outcomes.
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Dhamala et al. (2025) studied this question.
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