Quirónsalud Marbella Hospital receives requests from central and south Spain, Portugal and North of Africa in its first year of implementation of a treatment for thyroid nodules

It has been a year since Hospital Quirónsalud Marbella Hospital added the HIFU ultrasound therapy to its service portfolio. This therapy has proven to be a pioneering treatment for thyroid nodules and has turned our hospital into the reference medical centre for this non-invasive technique that reduces the size of the nodules without the need of surgery. Hospital Quirónsalud Marbella is the only medical centre providing this avant-guard treatment in the South of Spain, making it the receiver of numerous requests from patients from around this area of the country as well as from countries from the South hemisphere.

"During this first year of implementation of the HIFU ultrasound therapy for the treatment of benign thyroid nodules, we have received requests from national and international patients. Our national requests come from Madrid, Salamanca, Badajoz and Algeciras, whereas our international requests come mainly from our neighbouring countries, i.e., Portugal and North of Africa", explains the Head of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Unit, Doctor Rida Nagib.

In the opinion of Doctor Nagib, the balance of these first few months is positive and the results obtained have met the expectations for this pioneering technique. Our expert highlights that "all the patients who have received this therapy have seen a significant reduction in the size of their nodules and have experienced an improvement of their symptoms. Specifically, the issues reported with swallowing have been eliminated and from an appearance point of view, patient complexion changed as no lumps were showing at first sight".

The Head of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Unitof the Hospital Quirónsalud Marbella Hospital states that this technique requires a preliminary study to be carried out by the specialist in order to ensure the suitability of the treatment. "Our purpose is to obtain the best results possible, which is the reason why we need to carry out a preliminary screening of the requests. All the requests are evaluated at a preliminary stage as we must ensure the patient profile is suitable for this technique. One of the main requirements is that nodules are at least 3 centimetres in size", explains the Endocrinologist.

The HIFU ultrasound therapy is specially adequate for patients with thyroid nodules in a stage of ongoing growth where other structures are compressed, which can cause other symptoms such as discomfort when swallowing or difficulty to breathe.

The main quality of this therapy is that it is completely harmless, it does not leave scars or cause secondary adverse effects. With conventional treatments such as surgery and radiofrequency "there is a risk percentage of loss of vocal cord movement, alterations of the parathyroid glands or calcium levels, poor healing..." the specialist states.

This new technology is based on the use of ultrasound to target the exact nodule area with millimetric precision. The technology delivers flashes that burn the core of the lump without discomfort to the patient as this is a non-invasive technique.

Thyroid nodules are growths in parts of the thyroid gland that can increase in size. As the Head of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Unit explains "thyroid nodules are similar to breast nodules. Not all of them will develop into cancer, as they can be benign as well as malignant. The same can happen with the thyroid gland. These nodules are very common in 50% of the population, and therefore they need to be under control as there is a risk of malignancy or adverse side effects in the event they grow in excess".

The thyroid gland is located in the anterior area of the neck. It has a characteristic butterfly shape and is involved in a variety of functions such as basal metabolism, the heart, the digestive system, the nervous system and the mood.