• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.221-224
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• 2010

Papillary thyroid carcinoma frequently invades the lymph node, trachea, esophagus and perithyroid tissue. However, direct extension to posterior pharyngeal area is known to be rare. A 64-year-old male was referred to our clinic presenting as posterior pharyngeal mass during gastrofiberscopy. The neck CT scan showed soft tissue mass in retropharynx and lymph node in right level III with calcifications. We performed the total thyroidectomy with selective(level II, III, IV) and anterior compartment neck dissection. In operative findings, the right thyroid mass were connected to the retropharynx through the posterior portion of inferior constrictor muscle. Histopathologic findings revealed the papillary thyroid carcinoma extended to retropharynx. We report a unique case with a literature review.