Mummified Thyroid Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to highlight the various sonographic characteristics that should help to differentiate a restructured benign collapsed thyroid nodule from histologically proven thyroid carcinoma by different imaging means, including Doppler sonography, and fine-needle aspiration cytologic analysis.
CONCLUSION: Benign thyroid nodules may display morphologic changes over time, which can have misleading sonographic features suggestive of malignancy. Precise knowledge of certain sonographic imaging features, such as regular eggshell calcifications, peripheral hypoechoic or hypoechoic rim, posterior shadowing, and absence of intranodular vascularization, and meticulous comparison with previous images showing thyroid nodule shrinkage over time are useful for reaching the correct final diagnosis. Fine-needle aspiration cytologic assessment of such initially suspicious thyroid nodules and sonographic follow-up contribute to establishing the final diagnosis of benign thyroid findings. Knowledge of the elements described should help to identify the so-called mummified thyroid nodule and avert surgical excision.