The thyroid gland, located in the lower neck, is a butterfly-shaped endocrine gland that creates essential hormones which affect metabolism. The thyroid secretes these hormones into the blood stream, which then get carried to every tissue in the body. The hormones produced by the thyroid help the body stay warm, use energy and keep the brain, heart and muscles working as they should. Nodules in the thyroid gland are quite common, fortunately the majority of these are due to benign conditions. A small minority may be due to thyroid cancer so appropriate work up of a thyroid nodule is important.
Located on the thyroid are four pea-sized glands, called parathyroid glands. They sound similar, however the thyroid and parathyroid glands are very different. The parathyroid glands produce PTH, or parathyroid hormone, which helps to keep the right balance of calcium and phosphorous in the body. If your parathyroid glands make too much or too little of this hormone, it disrupts the balance which can cause a host of problems.
If they produce too much PTH, you have hyperparathyroidism. In this case, the blood calcium rises. Abnormally high blood calcium levels could gradually damage organs in the body over time. If the parathyroid glands do not produce enough PTH, that means you have hypoparathyroidism, and your blood does not have enough calcium and too much phosphorous.
At ENT Specialists, we are proud to provide in-house extensive services to our patients suffering from thyroid and parathyroid disorders. Our ENT physicians are specially trained in fine needle aspiration (FNA) so patients will not have separate office visits for a biopsy or a trip to the hospital for a biopsy. Our services include a comprehensive work up of the thyroid, including any gland tumors that may exist, in-office ultra sound guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) of thyroid nodules, CT or MRI scans if necessary, treatment and management options, and surgery if recommended.
If you need help diagnosing or managing your thyroid or parathyroid issues, our ENT physicians are here to help you with conservative treatment and management, and surgery if recommended. Please call our office today at 508-588-8034 to schedule a consult.