Thyroid nodules
What is meant by thyroid nodules?
The word nodules refer to round or oval-shaped lump. Thyroid nodules are lumps that occur in the thyroid gland. The gland is situated in the neck.
What does the word malignant mean? Are they benign or malignant?
Malignant means cancerous. More commonly these nodules are benign that is not cancerous. But is it important to consult an endocrine surgeon (Dr Sapana Bothra Jain).
How common are thyroid nodules?
Thyroid nodules are common and are not usually harmful to a person’s health. But sometimes, thyroid nodules are caused by a serious condition, such as cancer.
What are the symptoms?
Generally, you or someone in your family might point to a swelling in front of your neck. Quite often this is the only symptom. Sometimes the nodule can get picked up in imaging coincidentally.
Sometimes when the swelling is large it can cause pressure symptoms like a change in voice.
Sometimes symptoms can occur out of anxiety or due to increased thyroid hormones like
- Increased heart rate
- Feeling anxious
- Losing weight even without trying
- Increased sweating
- Fatigue
For more details contact Dr Sapana Bothra Jain
Do I need to do tests?
Yes, the endocrine surgeon will decide need for more tests after clinical assessment.
Tests may include some blood-based tests, imaging or Fine needle aspiration or thyroid scan
How are thyroid nodules treated?
Your endocrine surgeon will guide you and discuss the best options. Surgery is not the only treatment. Quite often, a patient is worried that visiting a surgeon is equivalent to getting surgery done. This is, however, not the case.
Different treatments include:
- Conservative – Your doctor might watch a thyroid nodule if it is small and doesn’t look serious. But they will follow it closely to see if it grows bigger or needs to be treated. This means you might have another thyroid ultrasound and sometimes another fine needle aspiration.
- Surgery to remove one or both sides of the thyroid; This is a very skilled surgery and depending on the extent/size of nodule, decision is taking. Efforts are done to save the other structures in the same region including parathyroid gland, recurrent laryngeal nerve. Lymph node dissection will depend on the type of growth.
- Anti-thyroid drugs if there is excess of thyroid hormones in the blood.
- Others include the use of radioactive iodine
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