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Title: BENIGN NODULE ABLATION : THYROID
e-poster Number: EPOS 58
Category: e Poster
Author Name: Dr. Sreenivas Yella
Institute:
Co-Author Name:
Abstract :
Thyroid nodules are very common in clinical practice; they are discovered by palpation in 3–7% and by ultrasound (US) in about 50% of the general population. The majority of thyroid nodules are benign and asymptomatic, and benign thyroid nodules are usually managed by only observation and follow-up; however, a minority of them (10–15%) increase in size over time and may induce symptoms or cosmetic issues.
AIM & METHODS: Ethanol Ablation (EA) is widely used as a nonsurgical treatment usually for cystic (i.e., pure cyst) or predominantly cystic benign thyroid nodules (i.e., cystic portion > 50%). Direct injection of ethanol through a needle or a catheter for the purpose of atrophy of a mass in a solid organ is called EA, ethanol injection, or ethanol sclerotherapy.
The first interventional attempt to treat a thyroid nodule was simple aspiration of a thyroid cyst in 1966 by Crile. In 1974, Miller et al suggested that simple aspiration alone was associated with a high recurrence rate of 58%, which is the limit of this treatment. Thereafter, various sclerosing agents were used to treat recurrent thyroid cysts. In 1985, Rozman et al first used ethanol to treat thyroid cysts.
RESULTS: 40-50 patients with cosmetically problematic thyroid nodules have been treated over the last 10months in our hospital, with over >85% success rate & 5% complication rates.
CONCLUSION: EA should be the first option for the treatment of pure cysts and predominantly cystic nodules that are not treated with simple aspiration. EA of solid nodules has limited therapeutic effect and may require multiple sessions.
Unlike surgery, EA is a safe procedure that is easy to repeat, is inexpensive, can be performed easily on an outpatient basis, and has only transient side effects. The present consensus statement provided here will help promote the clinical application of EA.
