HealthCareMagic is now Ask A Doctor - 24x7 | https://www.askadoctor24x7.com

Hello. I Had An MRI Of My Cervical Spine/neck And

Posted on Sat, 29 Sep 2018

Question: Hello. I had an MRI of my cervical spine/neck and it showed a 1.1cm nodule in my lower left thyroid lobe. I then had an ultrasound which shows the same nodule and another 1.6cm nodule in my lower right lobe. My father passed away from esophageal CA (inoperable) and my mother from tracheal CA. I am 59 years old with a history of multiple MRIs and CAT scans due to a rt. vertebral dissection of unknown origin.
Having FNA in 2 weeks but my gut tells me to just have my thyroid removed (whether benign or otherwise).

I sincerely appreciate any and all thoughts on my situation.

Answered by Dr. Mirjeta Guni (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
About thyroid nodules;

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for asking!
I have gone through your concern carefully.

The ultrasound characteristics of the nodules are very important to decide about their treatment.

FNA sensitivity is very high (up to 97%) but in some cases, (when the nodules are over 3.5 cm, have 5 out of 5 characteristics of malignancy in ultrasound or when tumor marker calcitonin is high).

Surgery is recommended even though FNA results negative for malignancy.

Usually, it happens rarely, because as I mentioned above, FNA is sensitive and can diagnose a malignant nodule.

In your case, it would be better if you kindly upload/attach the ultrasound report to the reports section of this web-page for a specific suggestion.

Best wishes,
Dr.Mirjeta

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee

Follow up: Dr. Mirjeta Guni (2 hours later)

Thank you for your reply. I was just informed that a prior CAT scan in late March showed another 1.2 cm nodule in my right lobe. It was not mentioned to me for some unknown reason! This has grown.4 cm in the past 5 months and I am alarmed. I just learned this from my GP. What does this growth speed indicate?

Answered by Dr. Mirjeta Guni (24 hours later)

Brief Answer:
About thyroid nodules follow up;

Detailed Answer:
Hi again,
CT scan is not used for the follow up of the nodules because it's dementions and the charachteristics of the nodules can not be evaluated with ct scan, ultrasound is the most reliable technique.
4 mm can be considered significant growth for a nodule if it was evaluated with ultrasound but is not significant for CT scan because as I mentioned above it is not very sensitive for follow up of the nodules.
Furthermore is very difficult to describe the nature of the nodules in a CT scan.
FNA will give a more sensitive information.

Best wishes,
Dr.Mirjeta

Note: For more information on hormonal imbalance symptoms or unmanaged diabetes with other comorbid conditions, get back to us & Consult with an Endocrinologist. Click here to book an appointment.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad