Radioactive Iodine-131 Therapy in the Management of Ectopic Thyroid Tissue

• Published in: Sultan Qaboos University medical journal Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 571 - 574
• Main Authors: Woodhouse , Nicholas, El-Shafie , Omayma T, Hussain , Samir, Sankhla , Dilip
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Muscat - Oman Sultan Qaboos University 01.11.2014; Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, College of Medicine & Health Sciences
• Subjects: case report; CASE STUDIES; ectopic thyroid; FINE NEEDLE ASPIRATION; IODINE; iodine radioisotopes, therapeutic use; OMAN; Online Case Report; THERAPEUTIC MATERIALS; THERAPEUTICS; thyroglossal cyst; THYROID GLAND; thyroid, abnormalities; الرشف بالإبرة الدقيقة; الغدة الدرقية; المواد العلاجية; اليود; دراسات الحالة; علم المداواة; عمان; Thyroglossal Cyst; Iodine Radioisotopes, therapeutic use; Ectopic Thyroid; Fine Needle Aspiration; Oman; Thyroid, abnormalities; Case Report
• ISSN: 2075-051X; 2075-0528

The occurrence of ectopic lingual thyroid tissue was first reported over 100 years ago. We report an unusual presentation of ectopic thyroid tissue occurring in the submental area. A 27-year-old female presented to the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in Muscat, Oman, in October 2011 with an 8 × 6 cm mass which caused difficulty in talking and a feeling of heaviness in the jaw. She was clinically and biochemically euthyroid upon presentation. The clinical diagnosis was confirmed by a technetium(-99m) thyroid scan, magnetic resonance imaging and fine needle aspiration. A single dose of 976 megabecquerels of radioactive iodine-131 resulted in hypothyroidism after three months and the complete disappearance of the swelling and associated symptoms. At a two-year follow-up, the patient was healthy and continuing lifelong replacement therapy with thyroxine.