A 30-year-old member asked:
i was told i had a benign follicular adenoma after a fna on my thyroid nodule. is it possible to know this without surgery?
4 doctor answers • 9 doctors weighed in
Dr. Kitturah Schomberg-Klaiss answered
Family Medicine 28 years experience
Yes: The fna (fine needle aspiration) will gather a small sample of cells from the nodule, which will allow the pathologist to determine what kind of growth it is. Congrats on it being benign!
5882 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Mark Deutsch answered
Plastic Surgery 30 years experience
Cannot be certain: Follicular thyroid lesions can only be differentiated as mailgnant with surgery. When the specimen is reviewed by the pathologist if there is capsular invasion, vascular invasion, or lymphatic invasion then the diagnosis is follicular carcinoma and not follicular adenoma.
5876 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Scott Hackett answered
ENT and Head and Neck Surgery 39 years experience
Can't tell: For a follicular neoplasm of the thyroid one cannot tell from a needle biopsy if it is a benign adenoma or a malignant carcinoma. At least this half of the thyroid needs to be removed for diagnosis.
5194 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Head and Neck Surgery 32 years experience
Cytology: Looking at a cellular aspirate is the first line test for evaluating a thyroid nodule. It should be collected under ultrasound guidance to ensure the sample is from the nodule. The accuracy is 90%. If there are doubts, the sample slides can be reviewed by a reference expert cytologist. Additionally, molecular testing can be done on material obtained at biopsy or on the pathology slides.
1102 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
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Last updated Jun 11, 2017
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