Why would a doctor make a teen get a thyroid ultrasound? What thyroid conditions are there?

The doctor believes that a 17 year old has a lump in her throat.


What could show up in an ultrasound?


What conditions result from thyroid problems?|||I recently had an ultrasound. They are looking for what appears to be a "pouch" like skin inside your throat.





It could be serious, like cancer. However, at the age of 17 that is unlikely. They found I have excess mucous building up near the thyroid. Not serious.|||They look for different things. First, they look to see how the overall gland measures. Is it big, is it small, is one lobe larger than the other, etc. Then they look for echotexture, that is, to see if it looks the same throughout (homogeneous) or not (heterogeneous). When it is the latter it could mean things like an autoimmune disorder such as Hashi's or a mutlinodular goiter that is too small to present on the ultrasound. Then they look for nodules and cysts. If they find one, they measure it. They measure the vascularity within the nodule and also through the gland itself. They look for calcifications or any other abnormalities within the nodule. Any nodule above 1cm needs to be biopsied. They will usually do a wait and see approach for anything smaller and repeat the ultrasound every 6-12 months.





As far as what conditions... well there are a few.





Non-toxic mutlinodular goiter (lots of nodules, normal or low thyroid function)


Toxic mutlinodular goiter (lots of nodules, increased thyroid function


Cancer


Hashimoto's (this would show up with an antibodies test most of the time, although 10% of the time no anitbodies are present. It also is common to have normal thyroid function at the time of diagnosis, although most people are hypothyroid).


Graves' Disease (hyperthyroidism caused by an autoimmune disorder).





Hope this helps!





|||Thyroid nodules are seen in an ultrasound. for more info go to mayoclinic. com. nodules can be "just watched" or treated with synthetic thyroid meds to slow down their growth, and/or surgery. the thyroid cancer group with the best info on all of that is www.thyca.org. they also list great doctors who specialize in thryoid. (some endocronologists just do diabetes.) anyway, knowledge is power, and there are also two support groups through yahoo health groups...one on just thyroid and one for thyroid cancer. all these places will give you a good idea of what questions to ask. I had thyroid cancer found in my nodules, and I have had a very good recovery (over 2 years). I used all the places I listed above, plus a book called "the complete thyroid book" by dr ain. paperback, about 20 bucks. good luck and good health.