Thyroid Disease and Treatment

Are you experiencing heart palpitations, unexplained weight gain or loss and/or heat and cold intolerance? If so, you may have a thyroid disease or a thyroid hormone disorder. 

The thyroid gland is a small butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of your neck, just below your Adam’s apple. It produces thyroid hormone, which helps to regulate your body’s metabolism in many different ways.

Symptoms to Thyroid Dysfunction

The thyroid gland produces hormones that regulate your body's metabolic rate as well as heart and digestive function, muscle control, brain development, mood, and bone maintenance.

Hyperthyroidism

Excessive production of thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism) can cause:

• Excessive sweating
• Rapid heart rate / palpitations
• Tremors
• Weight loss
• Heat intolerance
• Nervousness, agitation, anxiety 
• Hypothyroidism

Conversely, an under-active thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) can result in:

• Fatigue
• Weight gain
• Cold intolerance
• Dry skin
• Muscle weakness
• Puffy face

At Northwest ENT and Allergy Center, we offer both surgical and non-surgical options for treating thyroid disorders.

Thyroid Nodules

A thyroid nodule is a growth in the thyroid gland. Thyroid nodules are extremely common and may be solitary or multiple (multinodular goiter). 

Thyroid Treatment Options 

When is thyroid surgery necessary?

The primary indications for thyroidectomy are suspicion of cancer, large size or concerning symptoms, such as throat pressure, difficulty swallowing, respiratory distress, or cosmetic disfigurement (from a visible goiter). 

Endoscopic Thyroidectomy

This procedure offers thyroid surgery in a way that can dramatically reduce the size of your neck incision/s and speed-up recovery. 

In an endoscopic thyroidectomy, your surgeon works through an incision about one-third the size of a normal incision, using video cameras and slender instruments -- an option not offered by many practices in this area. 

Conventional Thyroidectomy

A conventional thyroidectomy is an operation that removes part or all of your thyroid gland. The three most common types of thyroidectomy:

• Total - removes the entire thyroid gland
• Subtotal - removes most of the gland
• Hemi - removes one lobe of the gland 

The extent of the operation depends upon the nature and extent of the pathology.

Ethanol Ablation of Thyroid Cysts

Some patients have large cystic nodules that can be treated with Ethanol Ablation, rather than a thyroidectomy. Ethanol, which is similar to drinking alcohol, has been shown to permanently reduce the size of cystic nodules. 

Northwest ENT and Allergy Center is one of the few ENT centers in the country that offer this treatment method for large cystic nodules. 

Radiofrequency Ablation of Thyroid Nodules

Recently, Dr. Shatul Parikh at Northwest ENT and Allergy Center has begun offering a new technology for the management of these benign thyroid nodules. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of a thyroid nodule is a procedure that can use a safe technique that has been used in healthcare for decades to shrink unwanted tissue.

With thousands of patient experiences in Korea, Brazil, and Europe, these nodules have been shown to shrink up to 80% saving a patient from surgery.

The procedure is performed under local anesthesia, and the pain and discomfort are no worse than a regular thyroid needle biopsy.

Generally, procedures can take up to 20 minutes, and patients can go home the same day and resume regular activity the next day.