Where is the thyroid gland located in the body?
Most people do not know where the thyroid gland is located, but most people are not unfamiliar with “thick neck disease”, which is an enlargement of the thyroid gland, which tells us that the thyroid gland is located in the neck. To be more specific, the thyroid gland is located about 2 to 3 cm below the “laryngeal node” that we can touch ourselves, and can move up and down with it when swallowing something. The thyroid gland is the largest endocrine organ in the body and is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the lower part of the neck, including two lobes on each side of the trachea. The thyroid gland is connected by thyroid tissue in the middle, called the isthmus.
What are the important roles of the thyroid gland in the human body?
The thyroid gland’s main function is to produce thyroid hormones. The role of thyroid hormones in the human body is mainly in three areas: promoting growth and development, especially in infancy, so that congenital or early childhood lack of thyroid hormones can cause cretinism; affecting the body’s metabolism and making the body produce heat, and under normal circumstances promoting protein synthesis, which is important for growth and development in early childhood. However, excessive secretion of thyroid hormone, on the contrary, causes protein, especially protein of skeletal muscle, to be decomposed in large quantities, thus patients with hyperthyroidism will suffer from wasting and weakness. It is important for the activity of some organs and for maintaining the excitability of the nervous system. Thyroid hormones can act directly on the heart muscle, causing increased contraction and faster heart rate.
How do I detect thyroid disorders on my own?
When you notice thickening or a lump in your neck, even if there are no uncomfortable symptoms, you should think about whether an enlarged thyroid gland or other thyroid disorders have occurred. At this time, you should go to the hospital promptly. Your doctor can usually tell you whether your thyroid gland is enlarged and whether there is a lump by palpating the thyroid gland. There are many different thyroid disorders, and those who have an enlarged thyroid gland or a swollen thyroid gland generally need further tests to determine the nature of the thyroid disorder, such as blood tests to check thyroid function and, if necessary, radionuclide and ultrasound examinations of the thyroid gland, or even cytology of the thyroid gland by a thyroid aspiration.
What are the signs of thyroid cancer?
Nodular enlargement of the thyroid gland with the following conditions may indicate thyroid cancer.
(1) A long-term enlarged thyroid nodule that is irregular in shape or has recently become rapidly enlarged and hardened.
(2) The surrounding tissues are invaded, such as hoarseness and difficulty in breathing.
(3) Those who have a history of diagnosis and treatment of radiation exposure to the head or neck, especially in adolescents, are more likely.
(4) Those with significantly restricted movement of the mass during swallowing and basal fixation.
(5) With hard cervical lymph nodes that are enlarged. The mass does not shrink with anti-infective treatment.
(6) Those with prolonged diarrhea without thick bloody stools, often with facial flushing or multiple mucosal neuromas. The presenting symptoms are characteristic of medullary carcinoma
(7) Thyroid nuclear imaging shows “cold nodules”.
(8) Postoperative findings of incomplete envelope or adhesions to surrounding tissues.
How to treat thyroid cancer?
The treatment of thyroid cancer varies according to the type of pathology, the most common being papillary carcinoma, together with follicular carcinoma and medullary carcinoma, which account for more than 90% of all thyroid cancers. The treatment of these three types of cancer is a combination of early surgery and radiation therapy. If treated early, the results are often very good and most patients can survive for a long time or even be cured. However, the prognosis of undifferentiated cancer is poor, and the treatment is mainly based on radiation therapy, which often has poor results. The proportion of undifferentiated cancer is very small, usually less than 10%, and it occurs mostly in the elderly.
What are the advantages of thyroid surgery under minimally invasive techniques?
With the advancement of modern technology, surgical techniques and instruments and equipment have been significantly improved. Since 2001, our vascular thyroid surgery has gradually adopted some minimally invasive techniques in thyroid surgery, such as lumpectomy thyroid surgery, ultrasonic knife in thyroid surgery, and thyroid surgery without routine placement of drains. We have accumulated a wealth of experience in thousands of cases, which we call thyroid surgery under minimally invasive techniques. After adopting minimally invasive technology, it can significantly reduce bleeding during surgery, shorten surgery time, reduce surgical complications, and make the relatively large and obvious wounds in the past smaller and more concealed, which obviously reduces the trauma and pain of patients and receives very good clinical results.