Thyroid diseases are experiencing a steady increase in cases and primarily affect adult women. In the endocrinology clinics at the Duilio Casula Hospital, says the facility's director, Professor Francesco Boi, "approximately 10,000 visits are performed for thyroid diseases, and malignant tumor diagnoses have reached 300 cases per year."

In Sardinia, approximately 600 thyroid removal procedures are performed each year. In 2025, at the Duilio Casula Polyclinic, says Professor Pietro Giorgio Calò, Director of General Surgery at the University of Cagliari and Vice Rector for Health Care at the University of Cagliari, "345 thyroidectomies were performed, which are now increasingly safe thanks to the use of neuromonitoring devices and parathyroid localization techniques. The use of ultrasound, bipolar energy, and radiofrequency devices also allows for shorter surgical times. But that's not all. Surgery is increasingly minimally invasive, with cosmetic benefits and a faster postoperative recovery."

Surgery is necessary, Professor Calò adds, "in the presence of a malignant or suspicious nodule, if the nodule compresses surrounding structures, causing, for example, breathing difficulties and swallowing problems (compressive disorders), or if hyperthyroidism is not treatable with other therapies."

The approach to patients is now increasingly conservative, concludes the Director of General Surgery at the Polyclinic, "often allowing for the preservation of half the thyroid, with benefits for quality of life and reduced hospital stays and complications. In selected cases, it is also possible to treat thyroid nodules percutaneously, without surgical incisions, using radiofrequency or microwaves."

Thyroid diseases, continues Professor Francesco Boi, "are alterations in thyroid function such as hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, and structural changes such as goiter and benign and malignant nodules. Hypothyroidism, characterized by reduced production of thyroid hormones, can cause weight gain, muscle pain, heart disease, and pregnancy problems. Hyperthyroidism, on the other hand, due to excessive hormone production, causes the opposite symptoms such as nervousness, anxiety, hyperactivity, weight loss, and cardiac arrhythmias. In the presence of these symptoms, it is necessary to measure the levels of thyroid hormones FT4, FT3, and TSH, while to check for autoimmune thyroid diseases, it is necessary to measure the levels of thyroid antibodies, AbTPO, AbTg, and TRAb."

Early diagnosis and prevention remain the most effective tools for combating thyroid disease. In recent years, concludes the Director of Endocrinology at the University of Cagliari, "the frequency of malignant thyroid tumors has increased due to exposure to environmental factors, but also to diagnostic advances. Early diagnosis is based on thyroid ultrasound and cytological examination. Goiter and benign thyroid nodules, however, are favored by dietary iodine deficiency. Therefore, supplementation with foods such as fish, eggs, dairy products, and iodized salt is recommended."

(Unioneonline)

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