Patient’s Guide to Available Thyroid and Neck Ablation For Nodules,Cysts, Parathyroid Adenoma and Cancer

1. Thyroid Nodules:

Pure cyst or > 50 fluid use ethanol ablation PEI.

Solid mixed cyst >50% use Radiofrequency ablation RFA.

2. Solid Thyroid Nodules:

Toxic or Autonomous Functioning Nodule with Low TSH and High T4: Treat with RFA instead of surgery, or radioiodine.

Benign Thyroid Nodules class II use RFA instead of surgery.

Suspicious Nodules class III, that have benign molecular markers and classifiers treated with RFA instead of surgery.

Suspicious Nodules with positive classifier: A PET/CT with low  nodule <3 SUV use RFA instead of surgery.

2. Thyroid Cancer:

Small select micro-papillary thyroid cancers: Treat with RFA or use active surveillance.

Metastatic Papillary cancer to 1-3 neck lymph nodes. Treat with ethanol or RFA instead of another modified radical neck dissection.

Recurrent Papillary thyroid cancer: Recurrence in 1-3 areas of the central compartment usually needs another surgery, but selected cases that refuse surgery or have co-morbidity issues can elect to have RFA. RFA has cured some of these cases with complete ablation of the recurrence.

Palliative Thyroid Cancer Therapy:Large recurrence with little chance for cure can have symptoms and cosmetic treatment with RFA alone or in combination with External beam radiation.

3. Neck Cysts: Thyroglossal duct cyst,Bronchial cleft cyst, and parathyroid cyst. All neck cysts with cystic fluid can be ablated with ethanol. Some with solid components can be treated with RFA.

4. Parathyroid Adenoma PTA : Selected PTA or or multiple Adenomas can be ablated with RFA with normalization of the serum calcium and parathyroid Hormone level.

Before you have surgery for any of these disorders check out this patient’s guide to available ablation alternatives to surgery.

Using PEI and RFA in my office to treat you without surgery.

Call me at 310-393-8860 or email to thyroid.manager@thyroid.com.

Ask for Alicia.

Dr.G.