Interní Med. 2013; 15(8-9): 280-282

Treatment of large complex thyroid cysts with ethanol sclerotherapy

MUDr.Milan Halenka, Ph.D., doc.MUDr.David Karásek, Ph.D., doc.MUDr.Zdeněk Fryšák, CSc.

III. interní klinika, FN a LF UP Olomouc

as an alternative to surgical management in multimorbid patients

Ultrasound-guided ethanol sclerotherapy is used as an alternative to surgery in the treatment of thyroid cysts. The method is effective,

reproducible, cheap, and can be done on an outpatient basis. It involves certain risks related to alcohol leakage to the surrounding areas,

but serious complications have been reported in a small proportion of procedures. The approach is successfully used to treat small- and

medium-sized cysts of less than 50 ml of volume. It can also be tried in large, mostly complex cysts causing significant mechanical complaints.

Two cases are described of successful treatment of large complex cysts (80 and 170 ml) in multinodular goiters causing mechanical

complaints in elderly multimorbid patients in whom surgery was associated with increased surgical risk.

Keywords: ultrasound-guided ethanol sclerotherapy, ultrasonography, complex thyroid cyst, multinodular goiter

Published: October 1, 2013  Show citation