Life-Saving Emergency Decompression via a Clamshell Approach for Cardiac Arrest Caused by Hemorrhage of a Giant Mediastinal Ectopic Thyroid: A Case Report

Introduction

Mediastinal ectopic thyroid tissue is rare and is usually asymptomatic. Intratumoral hemorrhage causing acute mediastinal compression and cardiac arrest is extremely uncommon. We report a case of cardiac arrest caused by hemorrhage of a giant mediastinal ectopic thyroid, successfully managed with venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) and emergency surgical decompression by tumor removal.