Thyroid Nodules

[Ellykiddd]

Hello, I’ve just been called to have a ANC biopsy following an ultrasound which detected two nodules (9mm & 5mm) . Has anyone else had this? I’d be interested to hear how it went following and if anyone had nodules/thyroid removed? I know of course treatment depends on the outcome of if they are benign or not but I like to hear others similar stories. Any advice much appreciated....

[RockyPath]

I assume you're speaking of a fine-needle aspiration biopsy. I had multi-nodular thyroid disease discovered incidental to an MRI on my neck two years ago. I've had three ultrasounds and one fine needle aspiration biopsy. I have numerous nodules, in a wide range of sizes up to 2 cm, scattered across the landscape of the gland. Speaking to the ultrasound technician last week I learned the following:

If you have many nodules, from rice-sized grains to several over a centimeter, they're normally all benign and likely due to an inherited condition. No need to panic. If you only have one nodule, this tends to raise alarm flags. Why is there this thing, that's probably not inherited, suddenly growing by itself in the middle of an otherwise healthy-looking gland? Two nodules standing by themselves might be cause for concern.

The biopsy should be done with the guidance of ultrasound, otherwise they're poking in the dark. Those are not very big nodules to find without an ultrasound. The biopsy should take as many samples as necessary to be sure of what's there. You don't want them going back and you certainly don't want them saying, "Well, because we're not sure, we're just going to remove the whole gland to be safe (or because it's good practice for the surgeon to keep up his skills on this delicate, extremely long operation)."

Here in the US, If they find any sign of cancer in a nodule, they'll conservatively remove the side of the gland with the problem, leaving you with the other half of your gland.

You may feel like a colander after you're done with the biopsy, when the bruising sets in, but otherwise it should be painless.

[Lilpink79]

Hi, I only had my nodule found because I had a cervical mri. 3 cm on the right side and I have a several small ones on the left side. I was under the impression I was only referred for investigation because it was over 2cm. Biopsy was fine and nothing flagged up but they wanted to have another one done. I have actually been aware of it for years and thought it was swollen glands from acid reflux, the surgeon put me on the waiting list for removal because of that. Obv if anything flags up then the right side will have to be removed also but that is unlikely to happen. The way I think of it the chances of it being cancerous is actually very low, like as low as 3% so I am not concerned about that at this point. I did have a full thyroid panel done through medi checks for peace of mind too and my bloods were normal.

The scan and biopsy is very quick, I went back to work a few hours after it.