Exophthalmos in a Woman with Lingual, Subhyoid and Lateral-Lobe Thyroid Glands

THE diagnosis and management of a lump in the neck of a young patient can be a difficult problem. Inadvertent excision of functioning ectopic thyroid tissue in the tongue or subhyoid area when the mass in the neck is mistaken for a thyroglossal-duct cyst or some other entity can have serious consequences, for severe hypothyroidism can develop. As shown below, other complications can occur.This report is the first in English of a patient with exophthalmos and ectopic hyperplastic thyroid tissue occurring at the base of the tongue, in the subhyoid area and in the lateral thyroid lobe. Eleven cases . . .