Miliary opacities diagnosed as lung metastases of a thyroid carcinoma after 13 years of stability.

A 29-year-old man was hospitalized for the diagnosis of clinically asymptomatic miliary opacities discovered 13 years earlier and unchanged since then. Transbronchial biopsy showed metastatic thyroid carcinoma. Thyroid surgery revealed massive local invasion by a papillary carcinoma. We conclude that thyroid carcinoma, whether clinically detectable or not, should be considered in the diagnostic investigation of stable miliary lesions.