Thyroid hemiagenesis

Case contributed by Anthony Nuñez
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Neck pain. No history of surgical procedures. Incidental finding.

Patient Data

Age: 35 years
Gender: Female
mri

Agenesis of the left thyroid lobe and isthmus and diffusely enlarged right thyroid lobe with a mildly heterogeneous signal. No ectopic thyroid tissue.

Normal spinal canal with central disc protrusions at the levels of C5-C6 and C6-C7. 

Case Discussion

Thyroid hemiagenesis is a rare congenital abnormality characterized by the absence of one thyroid lobe, more commonly the left lobe.

Ultrasound is the gold standard and first line of diagnosis. It can present as the hockey stick sign on a thyroid scan (Tc-99m).

It has no clinical significance or symptoms. However, it may be associated with the development of compensatory hypertrophy of the contralateral thyroid lobe, thyroid nodules, thyroid dysfunction, thyroid morphological abnormalities, and thyroid autoimmune disorders.

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