THYROID TISSUE IN BUCCAL MUCOSA: A RARE PRESENTATION OF THYROID ECTOPIA

Ectopic thyroid tissue is a rare entity resulting from developmental defects at early stages of thyroid gland embryogenesis, during its passage from the floor of the primitive foregut to its final pre-tracheal position. It is frequently found along the course of the thyroglossal duct or laterally in the neck, as well as in distant places such as me-diastinum and subdiaphragmatic organs. Pres-ence of thyroid tissue in buccal mucosa is a rare presentation of thyroid ectopia. No such case has been reported in the world literature. We report a case of ectopic thyroid tissue in buccal mucosa in a seven years old male child who presented with a gradually increasing swelling in the right buccal mucosa. Aspiration cytology was sugges-tive of squamous papilloma. This also protects the recurrent laryngeal nerve from damage. Capsular dissection helps in pro-tecting the recurrent laryngeal nerve and also protects the blood supply of parathyroid glands. Minimally invasive transoral excision with CO2 laser was done and the tissue was sent for histo-pathology which revealed heterotopic thyroid tissue with follicular adenoma. Thyroid function tests suggested euthyroidism. Ultrasonography of the neck showed a normal thyroid gland in its normal location.