Haemoptysis: a presentation of papillary thyroid carcinoma

Papillary thyroid carcinomas can be retrospectively diagnosed in patients, who are having metastatic disease with an occult primary lesion. A sixty-year-old female patient was investigated for haemoptysis and was found to have a tracheal lesion. Biopsy revealed a papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. Patient underwent total thyroidectomy with excision of the tracheal lesion and was followed up by adjuvant external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment. The detailed history, examination and investigations of neck and upper aerodigestive tract (ADT) are important for correct diagnosis of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma.