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What is Thyroid Artery Embolization Treatment?
Thyroid artery embolization treatment involves inserting a needle through the groin to block the arteries supplying the thyroid gland with embolizing substances. The effectiveness of Thyroid Artery Embolization is high in cases of simple (diffuse) goiter and multinodular goiter. In this method, a fine needle is inserted into the femoral artery from the groin, and embolizing substances, which are small particles, are injected into three or four of the four blood vessels supplying the thyroid. When the blood flow to the cells is blocked by the embolizing substances, the blood supply to the thyroid decreases, causing the size of the thyroid gland to shrink. If the thyroid is overactive, its function will return to normal or near-normal levels.
With non-surgical, painless treatment and no scarring, thyroid artery embolization can restore your health. You can undergo Thyroid Artery Embolization Treatment at the Doç.Dr. Bülent Çekiç Clinic, located in Antalya Muratpaşa and serving other cities like Istanbul and Ankara. For more details and appointments, please contact us.
If the patient has one or more hypervascular nodules (nodules with a strong blood supply), these nodules will shrink to normal size after the thyroid artery embolization procedure.
In some cases, thyroid artery embolization treatment can be combined with percutaneous thyroid ablation procedures such as thyroid nodule microwave ablation or thyroid nodule radiofrequency ablation. If the patient has numerous non-hypervascular nodules and an enlarged thyroid gland, both ablation and embolization methods can be used together.
When is Thyroid Artery Embolization Treatment Applied?
If the thyroid gland has extended into the chest cavity, deeper, or toward the heart, surgical operation can become complicated. In such cases, the surgeon may need to open the patient's chest to reach the thyroid gland. For these situations, such as in plunging goiters, thyroid artery embolization treatment can shrink the thyroid gland to normal size within three months.
In cases of enlarged thyroid glands (goiter) with or without nodules, thyroid artery embolization is used to reduce the size of the thyroid gland and correct the condition of hyperthyroidism (excessive thyroid hormone production). The treatment helps both in reducing the size of the thyroid and normalizing the production of thyroid hormones.
For patients with a single active hormone-producing nodule (toxic adenoma) or multiple active hormone-producing thyroid nodules (toxic multinodular goiter), the effectiveness of thyroid artery embolization treatment is very high.
Graves' disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism. It is an autoimmune disease where antibodies produced by the immune system stimulate the thyroid gland to overproduce hormones. In Graves' disease, both the size of the thyroid gland increases, and thyroid hormone levels become abnormally high. One of the main issues in the medical treatment of Graves' disease is the side effects of high-dose antithyroid medications. Thyroid artery embolization treatment reduces the size of the thyroid to normal, bringing thyroid hormones back to normal or near-normal levels. The dosage of antithyroid medication can be reduced by up to 80%, helping the patient avoid side effects of medication.
In some patients, both treatments (thyroid artery embolization and percutaneous thyroid ablation) can be applied together. This is usually related to the number of nodules present and the size of the thyroid gland.
Advantages of Thyroid Artery Embolization Treatment
- The procedure is performed under local anesthesia, and the patient is discharged on the same day.
- The thyroid gland shrinks to normal size within 1-2 months without losing its function.
- In Graves' disease, the required dose of antithyroid medications can decrease by 80%.
- No incision is made on the patient's neck.
- The patient does not lose the thyroid gland, and hypothyroidism does not develop. There is no need for lifelong thyroid hormone replacement therapy.
- Within 3 months, there is an 80% reduction in the thyroid nodule/thyroid gland size.
In some patients, both treatments (thyroid artery embolization and percutaneous thyroid ablation) can be applied together. This is usually related to the number of nodules present and the size of the thyroid gland.
Thyroid Artery Embolization Treatment Prices
Thyroid artery embolization treatment prices are available after an examination by Interventional Radiology Specialist Doç.Dr. Bülent Çekiç in Antalya Muratpaşa, with services also offered in Istanbul and Ankara. First, an examination of the goiter and multinodular goiter should be performed to determine whether this treatment is appropriate. For more information and prices, please call us.
