Retropharyngeal thymus and parathyroid gland: a case report

Jordan C Schramm; Deborah A Perry; Ryan K Sewell

doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2013.10.066

Retropharyngeal thymus and parathyroid gland: a case report

Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2014 Jan;78(1):163-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2013.10.066. Epub 2013 Nov 14.

Authors

Jordan C Schramm¹, Deborah A Perry², Ryan K Sewell³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA. Electronic address: jordan.schramm@unmc.edu.
² Department of Pathology, Children's Hospital & Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
³ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA; ENT Specialists, P.C., Omaha, NE, USA.

PMID: 24309004
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2013.10.066

Abstract

Cervical ectopic thymus occurs when thymic tissue arrests during its embryologic descent through the neck to the upper mediastinum. Most often it presents as an asymptomatic neck mass. Rarely does it present with airway compromise, particularly in neonates. A neonate presented with a retropharyngeal mass causing dynamic upper airway obstruction, mimicking a venolymphatic malformation. Ultimately this proved to be aberrant ectopic thymus with an associated parathyroid gland. While there have been isolated reports of thymus or parathyroid in the retropharyngeal space, none of the prior reports found both within the same patient.

Keywords: Airway obstruction; Ectopic; Neck mass; Neonate; Parathyroid; Thymus.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Airway Obstruction / etiology*
Choristoma / etiology*
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Lymphatic Diseases / etiology*
Parathyroid Glands*
Thymus Gland*