Do thyroid nodules require surgery?

According to the clinical examination, by performing ultrasound, T3 and other functional tests of the thyroid gland, the decision of whether surgery is needed is based on the classification of thyroid nodules, such as the TI-RADS classification, grade 1 or 2 is generally benign, grade 3 has only 1% malignant potential, and grade 4 nodules are more malignant, so according to the classification to decide whether to perform surgery. Some thyroid nodules do not require surgery, and there are some tiny lesions that may survive with a tumor or with a nodule, but suspected malignant nodules usually require surgery. Though thyroid nodules are benign, they also require surgery if they interfere with breathing and press on the airway. Therefore, to perform thyroid surgery, it is necessary to determine whether to do the removal of thyroid nodules according to the condition, and to do a partial removal or total removal is determined by the degree of benignity and malignancy. After the resection, we need to consider the patient’s thyroid function, whether there is hypothyroidism or not, and decide whether to use drugs to treat it; such as malignant tumors should be treated with long-term hormone drugs.