ISSN : 1301-5680
e-ISSN : 2149-8156
Turkish Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery     
Pathological rib fracture as the first and only sign of occult follicular thyroid carcinoma: a rare case report
Recep Akgedik1, Murat Karakahya2, Şükran Akgedik3, Şamil Günay4, Ali Bekir Kurt5
1Departments of Chest Diseases, Medical Faculty of Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey
2Departments of General Surgery, Medical Faculty of Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey
3Departments of Pathology, Medical Faculty of Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey
4Department of Thoracic Surgery, Medical Faculty of Harran University, Şanlıurfa, Turkey
5Department of Radiology, Medical Faculty of Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey
DOI : 10.5606/tgkdc.dergisi.2017.12667
A 51-year-old man presented with pleuritic pain after hearing a breaking sound on the right side of his chest, while lifting a heavy weight. Physical examination revealed crepitation with mild swelling and tenderness over the fourth rib in the mid-axillary line. Thoracic computed tomography showed a mass in the right hemithorax lateral to the fourth rib, suggesting a malignant soft tissue tumor causing bone destruction and a pathological fracture. Since malignancy was reported in the intraoperative frozensection study, the lesion was removed with the third and fourth ribs. The result of the pathological examination was unexpectedly reported as a metastatic follicular thyroid carcinoma.
Keywords : Follicular thyroid carcinoma; metastasis; rib fracture
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