Thyroid cancer is asymptomatic

Ultrasound results at Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City showed that Mr. Cuong had a thyroid nodule in the left lobe measuring 7 mm. MSc.BSc.CKI Nguyen Duc Nghia, Center for Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, said that the patient’s thyroid nodules were growing rapidly and began to invade outside.

The surgeon performs open surgery and combines frozen biopsy right during surgery to determine if the thyroid nodule is benign or malignant. After 40 minutes, the results determined that the thyroid cancer had invaded beyond the thyroid gland. The doctor removes the entire thyroid gland to completely remove cancer cells, avoiding progression and invasion into the trachea, esophagus or distant metastasis.

The team dissected the thyroid gland from important structures in the neck, while preserving the parathyroid gland and recurrent laryngeal nerve. Thanks to that, patients avoid complications of hoarseness or hypocalcemia after surgery.

After surgery, Mr. Cuong recovered quickly, had little pain from the surgical wound, could eat and drink, and was discharged from the hospital after two days. Postoperative pathology results showed that the tumor was completely removed, with no malignant cells remaining on the cut area.

According to Dr. Nghia, Mr. Cuong’s thyroid tumor showed signs of invasion, so after surgery, he was prescribed adjuvant treatment with radioactive iodine (I-131) to prevent the cancer from recurring. Patients must also take thyroid hormone replacement and have regular check-ups every 3-6 months to monitor the TSH index (thyroid stimulating hormone index) and adjust endocrine function.

“The incidence of thyroid cancer in men is lower than in women, causing them to be subjective, less likely to have regular check-ups, and to detect the disease late,” Dr. Nghia said, adding that this condition affects the effectiveness of treatment, cost and prognosis of recovery, and the prognosis of survival is greatly reduced.

Doctor Nghia recommends that patients should not be subjective with small thyroid nodules and need to monitor periodically for early intervention if there are abnormalities.