Thyroid nodules are lumps that can form on the thyroid and rarely may be cancerous. As we age, it is common for an individual to develop thyroid nodules. Some nodules can be identified by palpation, meaning your doctor might find them on a clinical examination. However, most nodules are found incidentally on other advanced medical imaging (for instance an MRI of the neck performed to evaluate a pinched nerve or an ultrasound of the carotid arteries performed to identify plaque).
In order to properly evaluate your thyroid nodules, our doctors will combine laboratory testing, clinical experience, and high resolution ultrasound to determine if a nodule requires tissue sampling with a Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA). A lot can be learned from the ultrasound features of a nodule and that is exactly why we believe it is imperative that an experienced endocrinologist does not just read a report or review images from outside facilities. We believe the best care is provided when an experienced endocrinologist can evaluate a nodule with a high resolution ultrasound at your visit.
The doctors of Advocare Endocrinology Associates of Princeton have been on the cutting edge of clinical thyroidology since the day the practice was founded in 2010, performing thousands of thyroid biopsies, thousands of diagnostic ultrasounds and caring for thousands of thyroid cancer survivors. There is no substitute for the experience and expertise of our physicians in managing thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer.
