Transposition of the lingual thyroid: A new alternative technique

Background. In symptomatic lingual thyroid, surgical transposition of the gland with its vascular supply intact seems to have superior results to those obtained by surgical ablation and autotransplantation. However, the procedure should be simple, reproducible, reliable, and cause less morbidity as well as providing simple access to and evaluation of the gland postoperatively. Methods. We present the case of a 33-year-old female with lingual thyroid who was treated by transposing the whole gland to the lateral pharyngeal wall through a lateral pharyngotomy incision. The transposed lingual thyroid was nourished by a random tongue muscle pedicle flap. Result. At the 5-month postoperative stage, iodine scanning reviewed the radioactivity uptake of the transposed gland. Even though the patient was not on postoperative thyroid hormone supplement, her thyroid function gradually returned to normal after initially showing hypothyroid postoperatively. Conclusion. This new technique for transposition of lingual thyroid is simple and reliable and should be considered as an alternative method in the management of symptomatic patients. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.