Retrotracheal goiter: a diagnostic and therapeutic problem.

A patient with chronic cough and recent dysphagia was found to have a retrotracheal mass extending into the visceral mediastinum on chest roentgenogram. A computed tomographic scan confirmed a retrotracheal lesion, which was believed to be of lymphatic origin. A thyroid scan demonstrated downward displacement of the left lobe but little uptake in the mass. Histological findings of mediastinal biopsies were inconclusive. A large retrotracheal thyroid adenoma was easily excised through a right thoracotomy. The approach to diagnosis and, in cases of doubt, the safety of surgical access through thoracotomy for thyroid lesions in this unusual site is discussed.