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What Does Thyroid Tissue On Ultrasound After Surgery For Thyroid Cancer Indicate?
Question: Hi my name is XXXXX, 15 years ago i had papilary cancer, been taken sinthoid ever since, last week had an ultrasaun , resolts have some nagels left and right, one is 7 ml and 2, what do u recomend other then biopsy them, why is the cose?
also the lynphatic gland, can i do a blod test to see if their malignat?
also the lynphatic gland, can i do a blod test to see if their malignat?
Brief Answer:
From thyroid tisue that was not completely removed
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.
I am so sorry to hear about this finding of thyroid tissue on ultrasound many years after surgery for cancer of the thyroid. I understand how surprising this is to you but it remain a possibility. During surgery, we try to get all of the thyroid gland tissues out but at times a few cells may be forgotten. Over years, these forgotten cells may multiply, increase in number and size and become identifiable through examination or imaging.
What were the reasons for which you were tested? Was it just a routine post surgery follow up exam or because of symptoms? Well, there is no single test that can for sure say this is caner or not. The best thing to do is to do a biopsy as your doctors have proposed. This is the god standard of diagnosing cancer because it looks directly at the cells and can identify cancerous cells from non cancerous cells. if the lymph gland is also swollen, doing a biopsy for analysis will provide more helpful information as to whether this is cancer or not and if it has moved to the gland.
Please, what was the last time you had your thyroid function checked? Please, kindly provide me with the numbers if available for interpretation and more insights information.
I hope this helps. I wish you well. Feel free to ask for more information and clarification if need be. Thanks for patronizing our services.
Dr. Ditah, MD.
From thyroid tisue that was not completely removed
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.
I am so sorry to hear about this finding of thyroid tissue on ultrasound many years after surgery for cancer of the thyroid. I understand how surprising this is to you but it remain a possibility. During surgery, we try to get all of the thyroid gland tissues out but at times a few cells may be forgotten. Over years, these forgotten cells may multiply, increase in number and size and become identifiable through examination or imaging.
What were the reasons for which you were tested? Was it just a routine post surgery follow up exam or because of symptoms? Well, there is no single test that can for sure say this is caner or not. The best thing to do is to do a biopsy as your doctors have proposed. This is the god standard of diagnosing cancer because it looks directly at the cells and can identify cancerous cells from non cancerous cells. if the lymph gland is also swollen, doing a biopsy for analysis will provide more helpful information as to whether this is cancer or not and if it has moved to the gland.
Please, what was the last time you had your thyroid function checked? Please, kindly provide me with the numbers if available for interpretation and more insights information.
I hope this helps. I wish you well. Feel free to ask for more information and clarification if need be. Thanks for patronizing our services.
Dr. Ditah, MD.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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