Elevated iodine uptake at autogenous bone graft harvest sites

Clin Nucl Med. 2012 Sep;37(9):901-3. doi: 10.1097/RLU.0b013e31825b25a7.

Abstract

A 16-year-old adolescent girl post total thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma presented for postsurgical radioablative therapy. A whole-body I scintigraphy revealed not only expected activity in the thyroid bed but also asymmetric tracer distribution in the mandible and 2 foci of increased I accumulation in the distal left lower extremity. SPECT/CT images localized the activity to the donor sites of an autologous left fibular bone graft, harvested 8 years earlier to repair her mandible. Our case demonstrates that iodine accumulation can occur at the site of bone surgery many years after intervention and should be differentiated from iodine-avid metastases.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Biological Transport
  • Bone Transplantation*
  • Carcinoma / diagnostic imaging*
  • Carcinoma / metabolism*
  • Carcinoma, Papillary
  • False Positive Reactions
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Iodine Radioisotopes / metabolism
  • Radionuclide Imaging
  • Thyroid Cancer, Papillary
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*
  • Thyroid Neoplasms / metabolism*

Substances

  • Iodine Radioisotopes