A 13-year-old girl demonstrated abnormal I-131 uptake in the abdomen after total thyroidectomy for recurrent papillary-follicular thyroid carcinoma. Although a vertebral metastasis was suspected, a negative bone scan and normal computed tomography of the vertebra militated against this diagnosis. A Tc-99m abdominal scintigram and a small bowel roentgenogram revealed images typical of a Meckel's diverticulum. Exploratory laparotomy did not reveal metastases, and I-131 uptake was no longer demonstrated after operative removal of the Meckel's diverticulum. Uptake of I-131 by a Meckel's diverticulum can mimic metastatic thyroid cancer.
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Caplan et al. (1987) studied this question.