Lingual thyroid is a rarely diagnosed developmental anomaly in which the thyroid gland does not descend from its origin at the base of the tongue to its normal anatomical location in the neck. It accounts for 90% of all cases of ectopic thyroid tissue and is four times more common in women than in men. Approximately 10% of ectopic thyroid tissue is in the sublingual, submandibular, tracheal, lateral cervical, or intrathoracic regions, and rarely in the abdominal cavity. In more than half of patients, ectopic thyroid tissue is the only functioning thyroid tissue in the body, while in fewer cases, thyroid tissue is also found in its normal anatomical location in addition to the ectopic tissue. Half of patients with lingual thyroid have hypothyroidism; in some, this developmental anomaly can also cause local symptoms such as a foreign body sensation, dysphagia, and dyspnea. Hyperthyroidism or malignant transformation is rare. Scintigraphy plays the most important role in the diagnosis of lingual thyroid. Treatment options include levothyroxine replacement therapy, surgery, and radioactive iodine therapy. This case report shows the diagnostic procedure and treatment of a patient with lingual thyroid.
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