Benign Thyroid Disease

Goiter (thyroid enlargement) may be diffuse or nodular (multinodular or a solitary nodule), hormonal status may be euthyroid, hypo-thyroid, or hyper-thyroid, and histologically, the enlarged thyroid may be benign or malignant. Thyroid nodules may lead to compressive symptoms, hoarseness, dysphagia, and importantly, cancer. This chapter discusses the etiology, pathology, clinical presentation, laboratory investigations, imaging studies, diagnosis, and medical/surgical treatment of being thyroid disorders including multinodular goiter, retro-sternal (substernal) goiter, solitary thyroid nodule, and thyrotoxicosis (Graves’ disease—secondary or nodular hyperthyroidism). It also addresses the treatment and surgical indications of the different forms of thyroiditis, which may be “autoimmune” such as Hashimoto’s disease, de Quervain’s subacute thyroiditis, Riedle’s fibrosing thyroiditis, or “non-autoimmune” such as acute suppurative thyroiditis, drug-induced thyroiditis, postoperative necrotizing thyroiditis, or radiation thyroiditis.