Do thyroid nodules need surgery?

Thyroid nodules, also known as thyroid tumors, are quite common. Patients can feel a tumor in the neck area or discover it accidentally during a physical examination or ultrasound. About 90-95% of thyroid nodules are found to be benign. Normally, benign thyroid nodules have no unusual symptoms and do not pose a threat to the patient’s health.

The doctor chooses the treatment method after considering the size of the thyroid nodule, location, nature, and health status of the patient. Some methods of treating thyroid nodules include surgery or conservative treatment by thyroid aspiration, absolute alcohol injection or radiofrequency ablation…

Thyroid nodules larger than 10 mm in size, do not compress the esophagus or trachea, and are determined to be benign and usually do not require surgery. Patients need to have regular check-ups every year to monitor changes.

Thyroid nodules develop strongly and produce a lot of thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism), causing the patient to lose weight for unknown reasons, have heart rhythm disturbances, sweat more than usual, tremble hands… if treatment with drugs is not effective, surgery will often be needed.

When a patient has a thyroid tumor, the doctor will prescribe a biopsy (FNA) to determine whether the tumor is malignant or benign or an ultrasound to classify the tumor as low risk. The results are classified into TI-RADS groups 1, 2, 3, low risk of thyroid cancer, and surgery may not be considered. TIRADS levels of level 4 or higher have a higher risk of thyroid cancer, requiring surgery to remove the tumor.

For some tumors that are benign but cause symptoms, organ preservation methods such as radiofrequency ablation, thermal tumor destruction techniques or alcohol injection may be alternatives to surgery. These methods help reduce risks such as bleeding, hematoma in the neck, hoarseness, voice disorders, or having to take lifelong hormone replacement if the entire thyroid gland must be removed.

You should go for an in-depth examination at the Department of Endocrinology to do tests and diagnostic imaging, from which the doctor will give appropriate and accurate advice.