[ RadSafe ] " Hyperthyroidism surgery is first in North America "

[Jaro]

Quote : "In the past, doctors had only three options for treating
hyperthyroidism: pills that could be used only for a year to a year and a
half; radioactive iodine, which many women of reproductive age didn't want
to be exposed to; and surgery to remove part of the gland."


http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=92fea218-6
818-4170-a220-f1065547e04a
Hyperthyroidism surgery is first in North America
MARIO TONEGUZZI 
CanWest News Service
Friday, May 20, 2005
 
For the first time in North America, Calgary doctors have performed a
surgery that could be the wave of the future for treating hyperthyroidism.

The procedure, developed by endocrinologist Norman Wong, was performed this
month by William Hu, a neuroradiologist at the Foothills Medical Centre.

Wong, a member of the University of Calgary's faculty of medicine, said,
"Now that we've done it, it's safe to do in patients. It really represents
research at the forefront and delivery of care to the people right at the
forefront of research."

The procedure - arterial embolization - involves putting a little tube into
the artery in the groin area and feeding it through the body up to the
thyroid gland, said Wong. By injecting dye, doctors then figure out how many
blood vessels are present; usually there are four. Beads are then put in to
block off two or three of them.

The microscopic beads block the flow of blood to the gland, thus decreasing
the level of hormones in the body.

Hyperthyroidism, overactivity of the thyroid gland, is also known as Graves'
disease.

"People are symptomatic with feeling too hot," Wong said. "They lose weight
no matter how much they eat. They can have diarrhea. They can have shaking.
They don't sleep well. They have mood swings. They have itching. They have
sweating. And their heart beats fast."

In the past, doctors had only three options for treating hyperthyroidism:
pills that could be used only for a year to a year and a half; radioactive
iodine, which many women of reproductive age didn't want to be exposed to;
and surgery to remove part of the gland.

Wong developed this new procedure a couple of years ago with colleagues in
southern China. "Since then, we've done about 70 patients in China but none
in the western countries.

"Our patient (in Calgary) was the first one," he said.

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