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Case of right-neck tumor that appears to be ectopic thymus

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Abstract

A 7-year-old female infant presented with an asymptomatic soft tissue mass in the right neck. The tumor was considered to be a benign one because it had a smooth margin and no change in its size was observed. Ultrasonography showed a 4.5-cm-diameter solid tumor with a smooth, well-defined border. Inside the tumor, flow signals were observed on color Doppler and there were numerous echogenic spots. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination showed findings consistent with an ectopic thymus, i.e., T1- and T2-weighted images showed thymus-like signals. The course of the case is being continuously followed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Toshinori Aihara and Dr. Kimio Kanegawa, Department of Radiology, Jichi Children’s Medical Center Tochigi, for useful suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0498, Japan

    Kenichi Utano

  2. Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan

    Kiyoka Omoto, Harumi Koibuchi, Natsuki Take, Hiroaki Matsunaga & Nobuyuki Taniguchi

  3. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Saitama Medical Center, Jichi Medical University, Saitama, Japan

    Kiyoka Omoto

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  1. Kenichi Utano
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  2. Kiyoka Omoto
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  3. Harumi Koibuchi
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  4. Natsuki Take
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  5. Hiroaki Matsunaga
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  6. Nobuyuki Taniguchi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kenichi Utano.

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Utano, K., Omoto, K., Koibuchi, H. et al. Case of right-neck tumor that appears to be ectopic thymus. J Med Ultrasonics 36, 145–148 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10396-009-0219-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10396-009-0219-1

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