Ultrasound-guided laser ablation of very large benign thyroid nodules: 4-year, retrospective follow-up in 24 patients

Figures & data

Table 1. Patient characteristics.

Variable
Sex (Male/Female)	14/10
Age (years)	63 (48–87)
Nodule volume (mL)	138 (102–289)
Total energy administered per mL of nodular tissue (J)	461 (402–680)
Number of sessions	2 (2–3)
TSH (μIU/mL)	1.9 (1.1–3.2)
FT4 (pg/mL)	10.9 (10.2–13.1)
Pretreatment compressive symptom score
0	0 (0%)
1	2 (8.3%)
2	18 (75.0%)
3	4 (16.7%)

Data for age, nodule volume, energy administered, number of sessions, and thyroid-function parameters are expressed as median and range.

FT4, free thyroxine; TSH, thyroid-stimulating hormone.

Figure 1. Median nodule volume over 4 years of follow-up. *p < 0.001 vs pretreatment nodule volume. Percentage values indicate the VRRs at each timepoint. The number of patients who underwent nodule-volume assessment at the different time points was as follows: pretreatment and 1 year, 24; 4 years, 23.

Figure 2. Example of CT scans before (left) and 6 months after (right) the last laser treatment. The thyroid nodule is indicated by the white arrows.