Christopher P. Coppola, Alfred P. Kennedy, Jr. and Ronald J. Scorpio (eds.)Pediatric Surgery2014Diagnosis and Treatment10.1007/978-3-319-04340-1_61
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
Thyroid Nodules
(1)
Department of General Surgery, Geisinger Wyoming Valley, 1000 E. Mountain Dr., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711, USA
1.
Pathophysiology:
(a)
A thyroid nodule is an abnormal growth of tissue that forms a lump within the thyroid gland. Thyroid nodules are rare in children and tend to be more malignant. Prevalence of thyroid nodules in children varies anywhere from 0.2 to 5.1 % and approximately 25 % of nodules tend to be malignant.
(b)
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Risk factors for the development of malignant thyroid nodules include:
(i)
Family history of thyroid cancer (MEN syndromes, medullary thyroid cancer).
(ii)
Head and neck radiation exposure.
(iii)
