Acıbadem Kayseri Hospital General Surgery Specialist Assoc. Dr. Yunus Dönder stated that the thyroid gland is almost the conductor in the human body and said, “Hormones secreted from the thyroid gland manage the body.”
Stating that thyroid nodules are a disease caused by the structure of the thyroid gland, Acıbadem Kayseri Hospital General Surgery Specialist Assoc. Dr. Yunus Dönder said, “The thyroid gland is the conductor of the body. Hormones secreted from the thyroid gland manage the body. Some nodules may form in the thyroid gland. Nodules express themselves with some symptoms, these symptoms; swelling in the neck, shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, or if the thyroid gland works too much, there may be symptoms such as tremors in the hands, heart palpitations or sweating. If the thyroid gland is underactive, there may be edema in the body, weakness and fatigue. Investigation and evaluation of the nodule is very important for the treatment to be performed.”
“Benign or malignant nodules are differentiated”
Stating that nodules have different characteristics, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yunus Dönder said that the treatment method varies according to the nodules and gave the following information: “Good or bad nodules, size and number are very important. For example, we follow some thyroid nodules only with ultrasound. If it exceeds one centimeter and there are suspicious symptoms, then we perform a biopsy. When we make the diagnosis, if there is a tumor or suspicion of tumor, then we perform surgery.”
“We use a nerve monitor device to minimize the risk”
Noting that there is a risk of low calcium and nerve damage in thyroid surgeries, Dönder stated that the nerve motorization method is used to eliminate these risks and said the following: “After thyroid surgeries, temporary or permanent low calcium can be seen, and temporary or permanent nerve damage can also occur. We use a nerve monitor device to minimize the risk of nerve damage. Our aim is to remove as much thyroid tissue as possible. However, if there is a thyroid tissue very close to the nerve tissue, sometimes a small piece of thyroid tissue can be left in order not to put the nerve at risk. We can use the radioactive iodine method to treat the remaining tissue. When making these decisions, we choose the method that provides the highest benefit to the patient.
“We can perform unilateral or bilateral thyroid surgeries”
Stating that unilateral or bilateral surgeries are performed according to the content of the thyroid nodule, Dönder said, “Since the thyroid gland is a gland that determines whether the body works fast or low, it is undesirable for us to work fast or low. Treatment depends on whether the nodule is benign or malignant. First of all, we use diagnostic methods. We do hormone controls of the patient. Depending on the size, number and type of the nodule on the ultrasound, we can recommend a biopsy. According to the biopsy result, we can follow up if it is benign. If it is malignant or suspected to be malignant, then we recommend surgical treatment. We can perform unilateral or bilateral thyroid surgeries. When we perform unilateral thyroid surgery, we may not need to give thyroid hormone from outside. However, if we do it bilaterally, the person needs to use thyroid hormone for life. We do thyroid hormone controls in these patients. It can be difficult to keep the balance of thyroid hormone in the first times. When we remove the entire thyroid gland in thyroid surgeries, we replace the thyroid hormone from outside. The patient has a medication to take every day. However, in surgeries where we do not remove all thyroid tissue, we may not give hormone from outside. This depends on the hormone level of the patient.”
