Thyroid
Thyroid Nodules & Goitre
Most thyroid lumps are harmless. The task is to identify the small minority that are not, using ultrasound characteristics and a needle sample — without subjecting everybody else to surgery.
Symptoms that bring people in
- A lump or swelling at the front of the neck
- A sense of pressure when swallowing
- Hoarseness of the voice
- A lump that is growing noticeably
- A hard, fixed swelling, or lumps in the neck
Having one of these does not mean you have this condition — several overlap with far more common problems. It means the question is worth asking properly.
Thyroid nodules are extremely common — a scan will find one in a large proportion of adults, particularly women, and most are discovered incidentally on imaging done for something else. The overwhelming majority are benign. The purpose of assessment is to identify the few that need intervention while leaving the rest alone.
Assessment
Three things are established. First, thyroid function, since a nodule may be overactive and that changes management entirely. Second, an ultrasound, which describes the nodule's size, composition, margins, echogenicity and any calcification, and grades the risk on a standard scale. Third — and only where the ultrasound features and size warrant it — a fine-needle aspiration cytology, a quick outpatient needle sample that usually needs no more than local anaesthetic.
A radionuclide scan is added where a nodule is autonomously functioning. Serum calcitonin is measured in selected cases.
What happens next
A benign nodule with reassuring features is monitored, typically with a repeat ultrasound after an interval, and then less often if it is stable. Nothing further is required. Surgery is reserved for cytology that is suspicious or malignant, for nodules causing genuine pressure symptoms, for a large or rapidly enlarging goitre, and for toxic nodules where definitive treatment is chosen.
Goitre
Diffuse enlargement of the gland may reflect iodine status, autoimmune thyroiditis, or multinodular change over years. Function is assessed, the airway and swallowing are considered, and treatment follows the cause rather than the size alone.
Worth saying plainly
Even where a thyroid cancer is found, the common types are among the most curable of all cancers, with excellent long-term outcomes after appropriate treatment. A nodule warrants proper assessment; it rarely warrants alarm.
This page is general information. Doses and treatment choices in endocrinology are individual, and are decided at a consultation with your reports in front of us. Please do not start, stop or change a medicine based on this page.
Common questions
Before your first visit
How do I book an appointment?
Use the appointment form on this website and the clinic will telephone you to confirm a time, usually within one working day. For a same-day or urgent request, please ring the number in the page header instead — a phone call is always faster than a form.
Hospital OPDs at CMRI and Narayana Memorial are booked through the hospital's own reception. For district chambers, it is worth calling the chamber number listed on its page before travelling.
Which chamber should I choose?
Whichever is easiest for you to reach and return to. Endocrine conditions need review over months and years rather than a single visit, so the chamber you can get to comfortably every few months is nearly always the better choice than the one that seems most impressive.
That said: if your problem needs same-day tests, an ultrasound, or admission, a hospital OPD is the better setting. The Chambers page lists every location with its days and timings, and the weekly timetable shows them all side by side.
Do chamber timings ever change?
Yes — and this is worth taking seriously if you are travelling any distance. Several district visits run on a monthly rotation, such as the 1st and 3rd Saturday, and a hospital OPD can be rescheduled at short notice. Timings shown on this website are kept up to date and any known cancellation appears on the chamber's page, but please telephone ahead before a long journey.
What should I bring to the first consultation?
Bring everything you have, even if it seems old or irrelevant:
- all previous prescriptions, including from other doctors
- every blood report and scan you hold, in date order if possible
- the actual strips or boxes of the medicines you take, or a written list with doses
- your home blood sugar or blood pressure diary, if you keep one
- for a child, the growth chart and immunisation record
Old reports are genuinely useful. A five-year-old thyroid result or an earlier scan often changes the plan, because what matters in endocrinology is frequently the trend rather than today's number.
Consultation
Request an appointment
Tell us which chamber suits you and when. We will confirm your slot by phone.