Thyroid Ultrasound: Always A Great Option

I do a lot of thyroid U/S.  Many people have thyroid issues.  The go to the doctor because of malaise, or feeling tired.  Perhaps they go to the doctor for a check up and the physician feels a lump in the neck.  Many people blame obesity on a thyroid condition.  I will stay away from that.  I do believe that Fine Needle Aspiration with U/S guidance is a great tool in dealing with thyroid conditions.  Personally, if a nodule is heterogeneous, non-compressible, and icky looking, it needs a FNA.  I had a patient last week who tested positive by ultrasound.  She has follicular cancer.  She will be OK  We caught it in time I hope.  Look at the above picture and remember this is a picture of a nasty cancer.

In the retrospective review, researchers evaluated data of 465 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) who underwent surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center between January 2009 and December 2010. Fifty percent of participants underwent preoperative ultrasound of cervical neck lymph nodes, and 231 were not imaged preoperatively with ultrasound. The median follow-up was 29 months. 

 http://www.healio.com/endocrinology/thyroid/news/online/%7Bb4868556-14b2-4e31-a48a-38169b9ce1f4%7D/preoperative-neck-ultrasound-led-to-better-response-fewer-recurrences-among-dtc-patients

Surgeons View Using HF Ultrasound To Detect Lung Cancer In The Chest Wall

It seems that something new and wonderful happens everyday.  This article I will post a link to is great news on the inventiveness of medical professionals all over the world.  We in the ultrasound community have known that high frequency, high definition medical ultrasound can create great pictures, and inspire inventive solutions to medical dilemmas.  In the case of cancer, it is a wonderful area of research, and development we are doing.  Lung cancer is one of the most nasty and prevalent cancers in the world.  Enjoy reading the link.

http://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/25038014/Preoperative_Assessment_of_Chest_Wall_Invasion_in_Non_Small_Cell_Lung_Cancer_Using_Surgeon_Performed_Ultrasound_

Unbound MEDLINE

Preoperative Assessment of Chest Wall Invasion in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Using Surgeon-Performed Ultrasound.

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Chest wall invasion in operable lung cancer upgrades the stage and can affect operative planning. Diagnosing chest wall invasion preoperatively is important in patient consent, in the choice of operative incision placement, and can be helpful in choosing an operative approach (open vs thoracoscopic). The objectives of this study were to determine the diagnostic accuracy of preoperative, surgeon-performed ultrasound (US) in assessing tumoral chest wall invasion (T3) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and to compare its accuracy vs preoperative computed tomography (CT).