Anterior Ectopic Thyroid

Anterior ectopic thyroid is extremely rare and often asymptomatic. In terms of management, there are three considerations:

a) patients with normal thyroid hormone levels do not require any treatment, simply observation,

b) patients who develop hypothyroidism should receive thyroid hormone replacement, which would actually shrink the ectopic thyroid tissue, or

c) if they have physical complications (difficulty swallowing for example) or local symptoms (ulceration, bleeding, etc.e) it can be surgically excised or treated with ablation therapy.

Read more on this topic: International Journal of Surgery, 2014

Written by Michelle Sveistrup, M.Sc., Director of Education and Publications, reviewed by Dr. Deric Morrison, Medical Advisor, MD FRCPC, Div. of Endocrinology, Dept. of Medicine, University of Western Ontario