Do I have to have surgery for a thyroid nodule?

  With the improvement of our standard of living and the popularity of ultrasound examination of the thyroid gland, there are more and more patients with clinical thyroid nodules. If surgical treatment is used indiscriminately, it may cause a lot of waste of health resources and harm to patients. Therefore, most of those clearly diagnosed as benign nodules in clinical practice can be treated conservatively with regular observation and follow-up.  Firstly, a careful evaluation is performed to clarify that the thyroid nodules are benign on ultrasonography, and secondly, those with normal thyroid function but high normal TSH can be given Eugenol 25-50ug/d. If the TSH is low normal, no medication is needed. In the first year of diagnosis, patients are asked to review ultrasound every 3-6 months, and thyroid function is also reviewed for those taking medication. If there is no change in the nodules, they can be reviewed once every 6-12 months starting in the second year. I have had many patients who have used this approach, thus avoiding surgery.  However, during follow-up, patients are advised to use surgery in the following cases: (1) when cancer is clinically considered, (2) when airway or digestive tract compression is present, (3) when the nodule is combined with hyperthyroidism, (4) when the nodule has a tendency to protrude downward into the posterior sternum, (5) when it affects cosmetology, and (6) when the patient’s life is affected by excessive ideological concerns.