[Surgical therapy of the autonomous thyroid nodule]

Abstract

Indications for the surgical removal of autonomous nodule are mainly based upon the failure of therapeutical options. The histological definition may be advantageous for detecting the rare but possible association between autonomous goiter and carcinoma of the thyroid. In personal experience, based on 176 hyperfunctioning goiter (among which there were 40 cases of autonomous nodules) 6 carcinomas of the gland were observed, 2 of these were associated with autonomous nodules. The extension of thyroidectomy is related to the size of the adenomas considering the incidence of postoperative complications, very low for this type of surgery. Surgical treatment of autonomous nodules of the thyroid is a low risk surgery and is therefore suitable for the treatment of this disease.