Goiter

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Thyroid enlargement - scintiscan

Thyroid gland

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Goiter

Treatment:

A goiter only needs to be treated if it is causing symptoms. The enlarged thyroid can be treated with radioactive iodine to shrink the gland or with surgical removal of part or all of the gland (thyroidectomy). Small doses of iodine (Lugol's or potassium iodine solution) may help when the goiter is due to iodine deficiency.

Expectations (prognosis):

A goiter is a benign (harmless) process. A simple goiter may disappear on its own, or may become large. Over time, hypothyroidism (not enough thyroid hormone) may develop due to destruction of the normal thyroid tissue. This can be treated with medications to replace the thyroid hormone.

Occasionally, a goiter may progress to a toxic nodular goiter when a nodule is making thyroid hormone on its own. This can cause hyperthyroidism (too much thyroid hormone) and can be treated with radioactive iodine to destroy the nodule.

Complications:

Progressive thyroid enlargement or the development of hardened nodules may mean thyroid malignancy. All thyroid nodules should be biopsied to check for cancer.
A simple goiter may progress to a toxic nodular goiter.
Hypothyroidism may occur after treatment of a large goiter with radioactive iodine or surgery.

Calling your health care provider:

Call your health care provider if you experience any swelling or enlargement in the front of your neck, increased resting pulse rate, or rapid heartbeats. Also call if you have diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, sweating without exercise or increased room temperature, shaking, agitation, shortness of breath, or signs of hypothyroidism such as fatigue, constipation, or dry skin.

Review Date: 8/1/2005
Reviewed By: Nikheel S. Kolatkar, MD, Clinical and Research Fellow, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Hypertension, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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