Purpose: The aim of this article was to determine the efficacy and safety of the combined use of ethanol and microwave (MWA) to thyroid cysts and explore the differences of various cysts.
Materials and methods: A total of 136 patients and 142 thyroid cystic nodules and predominantly cystic nodules received combination therapy of ethanol and MWA between January 2016 and December 2019 in BeiJing Friendship Hospital. They were divided into different groups according to the size, and the characteristics of fluid aspirated. We compared the Initial size, treatment procedure, postoperative complications, and follow-up results to analyze the characteristics of different groups.
Results: The combination treatments reduced the size of cysts by more than 93% with less complications at the end of follow-up. The treatment duration was longest in the colloid cysts (difference from the clear-fluid group, p < 0.01), the absolute volume of the clear-fluid group at the end of follow-up was the smallest (difference from the other two groups: P < 0.01).There were the similar mean volume reduction rate (VRR) between the large cysts and the small cysts (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: The combination treatments were applicable to all types of cysts. Understanding the characteristics of different cystic nodules and adopting different methods are helpful for us to carry out the minimally invasive treatment of cysts better.
Keywords: Colloid; Cyst; Ethanol; MWA; Thyroid.
Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.