A rare case of laryngotracheal chondrosarcoma in a patient with past history of radioiodine therapy for thyroid cancer
A 74-year-old male patient suffered from progressive dyspnea, hoarseness, and stridor over a period of a few months prior to preoperative assessment. He had a total thyroidectomy and was treated with 3,700 MBq (100 mCi) of radioactive iodine following thyroidectomy due to thyroid papillary carcinoma. Computed tomography (CT) scan and fiberoptic bronchoscopy were performed with suspicion of recurrent papillary carcinoma in cricoid cartilage and trachea. There was a mass in the left side of the subglotic area with intact mucosa []. After exploration of the neck via a collar incision, a mass on the left side proximal to the trachea and cricoid cartilage with involvement of left recurrent nerve was discovered. Proximal trachea, in addition to the left half of cricoid cartilage, was resected.\nIn order to reconstruct the airway, the trachea was cut in the shape of the letter L. So, the left and longer side of the trachea was sutured to the thyroid cartilage and the short right side to right half of the cricoid cartilage. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy was used for airway assessment and the patient was put on orotracheal intubation for 48 h. After extubation 48 h later, good phonation was observed in the patient without any respiratory problems. The patient was discharged from the hospital without any complications. In gross pathologic examination, the specimen consisted of a fragment of trachea measuring 4 × 3 × 2 cm that in cut section showed a polypoid mass in the inner wall with chondroid consistency and gray color. Microscopically, the sections revealed neoplastic proliferation of chondrocytes in a pale, basophilic, hyaline chondroid matrix. The chondrocytes showed increased nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratios, irregular nuclear membranes, and nucleoli. Mitotic activity was scant, but cellularity was markedly increased and several chondrocytes were seen on a single lacuna, indicating low-grade chondrosarcoma [].