International Journal of Head and Neck Surgery

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VOLUME 9 , ISSUE 4 ( October-December, 2018 ) > List of Articles

CASE REPORT

Occult Metastatic Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Presenting as Submandibular Mass: An Unusual Case

Rashu P Mittal, Rajesh R Yadav, Shashikantkant K Mhashal, Payal R Mittal

Keywords : Occult metastasis, Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma, Submandibular gland, Thyroid gland

Citation Information : Mittal RP, Yadav RR, Mhashal SK, Mittal PR. Occult Metastatic Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Presenting as Submandibular Mass: An Unusual Case. Int J Head Neck Surg 2018; 9 (4):131-133.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10001-1360

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 01-11-2019

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2018; The Author(s).


Abstract

Papillary carcinoma is the most common variant of thyroid cancer. A tumor less than 1 cm in size is labelled as the papillary thyroid micro-carcinoma (PTMC). Such tumors have an excellent prognosis, although a few may metastasize to cervical neck nodes. However, an infiltrated palpable neck node without evidence of thyroid disease is rare. Here, we report a case of an isolated submandibular metastasis from a clinically occult papillary thyroid carcinoma in a 40-year-old woman. The initial surgery was performed on the basis of the fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) report of basal cell adenoma vs cellular pleomorphic adenoma. The case was a total histopathological surprise as it was reported as a metastasis from papillary thyroid carcinoma. Subsequently total thyroidectomy and modified neck dissection was performed as per the standard surgical guidelines.


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