{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]],"date-time":"2026-05-11T06:09:18Z","timestamp":1778479758469,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":12,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]],"date-time":"2026-05-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778457600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Surg."],"abstract":"<jats:p>We report an exceptionally rare case of synchronous dual ectopic thyroid tissue (ETT) located in both the anterior and posterior mediastinum of a 54-year-old woman presenting with a symptomatic multinodular goiter and early-stage primary hyperparathyroidism. Preoperative evaluation revealed significant tracheal compression and deviation. The patient underwent a combined procedure consisting of right subtotal thyroidectomy, left total thyroidectomy, and parathyroidectomy. While thoracoscopic resection was initially considered for the mediastinal masses, three-dimensional (3D) vascular reconstruction (VR-RENDER) revealed that the blood supply originated exclusively from cervical vessels, with no identifiable thoracic pedicles. This crucial finding enabled the safe extraction of both isolated mediastinal lesions via a single transcervical incision using blunt manual dissection, thereby obviating the need for sternotomy or thoracoscopy. The surgical outcome was excellent, with minimal blood loss (&amp;lt; 5\u2005mL) and no postoperative complications. This case highlights the complex diagnostic and surgical challenges of multi-compartmental ETT and underscores the critical role of 3D imaging in optimizing preoperative planning and facilitating minimally invasive surgical approaches.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fsurg.2026.1789284","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]],"date-time":"2026-05-11T05:29:13Z","timestamp":1778477353000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Case Report: Cervical approach for dual mediastinal ectopic thyroid: clinical utility of 3D imaging in surgical planning"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Chun-Miao","family":"Tsai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Asian International Thyroid Center (AITC), Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital","place":["Changhua County, Taiwan"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shih-Ming","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Asian International Thyroid Center (AITC), Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital","place":["Changhua County, Taiwan"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chia-Ying","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chest Surgery, Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital","place":["Changhua County, Taiwan"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Li-Hsun","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Asian Institute of Telesurgery (IRCAD-Taiwan), Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital","place":["Changhua County, Taiwan"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"790","DOI":"10.1186\/1756-0500-7-790","article-title":"Ectopic thyroid tissue in the head and neck: a case series","volume":"7","author":"Adelchi","year":"2014","journal-title":"BMC Res Notes"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"284","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijscr.2020.12.032","article-title":"Ectopic mediastinal thyroid removed by U-vats approach. 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