Leiomyosarcoma of the Thyroid Gland with Rapid Growth and Tracheal Obstruction: A Partial Thyroidectomy and Tracheostomy Using an Ultrasonically Activated Scalpel Can Be Safely Performed with Less Bleeding

Primary leiomyosarcoma of the thyroid gland is rare, and to the best of our knowledge only nine well-documented cases have been previously reported in the world literature. We herein report a 90-year-old female patient with primary leiomyosarcoma of the thyroid gland who showed a rapid tumor growth and tracheal obstruction. The patient was successfully treated by a partial resection of the thyroid gland using an ultrasonically activated scalpel and emergency tracheostomy. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells showed positive reactivity to smooth muscle actin and negative reactivity to thyroglobin. Palliative surgery successfully allowed the patient to recover from the symptoms of dyspnea related to this rare disease. The use of an ultrasonically activated scalpel and tracheostomy thus allowed us to safely perform a thyroidectomy with substantially less bleeding than normal.