Korean J Otolaryngol-Head Neck Surg.  2004 Apr;47(4):368-370.

A Case of Thyroid Papillary Microcarcinoma with Submental Node Metastasis

• Park IH
• Shin DJ
• Woo JS
• Jung KY

Abstract

Thyroid papillary microcarcinomas are small (10< mm) thyroid cancers. The majority of these are not palpable and not apparent clinically. Some patients with thyroid papillary microcarcinoma present palpable neck node metastasis, which lead to the diagnosis of papillary thyroid cancer that had not initially been apparent. The central and ipsilateral compartments are frequently affected with lymph node metastasis of thyroid carcinoma and the posterior triangle may be involved also. However, the submental and submandibular triangle are rarely involved. Here, we report a case of 57-year-old woman with a five-year history of painless submental area masses. The patient had a history of the same lesion, which was excised at another hospital 10 years ago. Aspirated specimen of mass demonstrated malignant cells of papillary carcinoma. Surgical excision of metastatic lesions was followed by total thyroidectomy, extended radical neck dissection, forearm free flap reconstruction and tracheostomy. Histological examinations confirmed that the patient had lymph node metastasis from papillary microcarcinoma of the thyroid.

Keyword

Thyroid gland; Carcinoma; Lymph nodes

MeSH Terms

Carcinoma, Papillary
Diagnosis
Female
Forearm
Free Tissue Flaps
Humans
Lymph Nodes
Middle Aged
Neck
Neck Dissection
Neoplasm Metastasis*
Thyroid Gland*
Thyroid Neoplasms
Thyroidectomy
Tracheostomy