INTRALARYNGOTRACHEAL GOITER: A CASE PRESENTATION AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Thyroid tissue located within the upper airway has received only sparse attention in the English literature. Aberrant benign thyroid masses may present as either an unrelated autopsy finding or with symptoms such as dyspnea, hemoptysis or adult -onset asthma. There is no place for medical management in the therapy of these lesions, although the appropriate surgical procedure is not clearly established. In this article a patient with respiratory distress and subglottic goiter is presented. She had subtotal thyroidectomy performed for goiter about 10 years ago. She was managed with tracheotomy and submucosal resection of subglottic thyroid tissue, followed by iodine ablation therapy and thyroid hormone replacement.