Thyroid Nodule Radiofrequency Ablation Treatment

Your thyroid nodules can be easily treated with Radiofrequency Ablation in as little as 20 minutes under local anesthesia. You can resume your normal life immediately after the procedure.

For many years, the only treatment option for thyroid nodules was surgical removal of the thyroid gland. If nodules were located in both thyroid lobes, the entire thyroid gland was usually removed, and patients were required to take thyroid hormone medication for the rest of their lives.

Furthermore, many people refuse treatment because of the risks associated with the anesthesia and the permanent incision scarring in the neck. These neglected nodules can eventually grow to very large sizes.

Very recently, there has been a revolution in the treatment of benign thyroid nodules. RF ablation, which has been used for many years to treat masses in relatively large organs such as the liver and kidneys, has begun to be used for nodules in the thyroid gland using special needles.

With this method, no incisions are made; instead, the nodules are vaporized through a single needle puncture. RF ablation is a very effective alternative to surgery, and experienced interventional radiologists in our country successfully perform non-surgical thyroid nodule treatments.

Treatment of cystic, fluid-containing nodules is even simpler. Therefore, the first-line treatment for cystic nodules is treatment with ethanol injection (chemical ablation). If chemical ablation is unsuccessful, RF ablation can be applied.

RF ablation should be the first choice for solid thyroid nodules that are determined to be benign. Conventional surgical treatments should be used as a second step only if necessary.

RF ablation is a procedure very similar to a thyroid biopsy. In a biopsy, we insert a needle into the nodule, extract cells, and then remove them. However, in RF ablation, we use a special needle. After local anesthesia, we apply heat to the thyroid nodule, causing it to vaporize. This treatment, which is quite safe in experienced hands, allows patients to leave the hospital on foot and immediately return to their normal lives. This treatment, which is performed at only a few centers in Turkey, is successfully performed by Associate Professor Dr. Mehmet Mahir ATASOY in the Department of Interventional Radiology at Maltepe University Faculty of Medicine Hospital.