What is Internal Goiter?

This type of goiter, which has medical terms as mediastinal goiter, intrathoracic goiter, plonjan goiter, is known as internal goiter among the people. When goiter disease progresses towards the lower part of the neck, it becomes an internal goiter. Although its exact location is not known; 2 cm of the collarbone. It can be under it; it can also be found below by descending to the level of the heart. It is a type of goiter that also has cases descending from the heart to the lower regions. Internal goiter can create various symptoms depending on the landing site and level. If it has a great effect on the trachea and pushes the trachea to the right or left, complaints such as shortness of breath or difficulty in swallowing occur. If it has descended directly and has not affected the trachea, then the patients will not have any complaints and the internal goiter will continue to exist as a hidden disease. If the lower part of the thyroid in the neck cannot be seen during ultrasound, then internal goiter is suspected. In order to diagnose internal goiter, a very meticulous study and comprehensive examinations are required. computer tomography is frequently used. This is an important examination to detect internal goiter.

If an internal goiter is detected in a patient, it must be treated surgically. It is not possible to follow the part in the chest and to detect if there is a case of cancer in this region. Therefore, when an internal goiter is detected, its treatment is surgical removal. Up to 90 percent of internal goiter cases can be removed with a small incision made from the neck. Although very rarely, in cases where the internal goiter descends to the lower levels, the internal goiter is removed from the area where it is located as a result of the full or partial opening of the chest. This proves to us how important early diagnosis is.

When the thyroid gland grows excessively and moves into the chest cavity, the goiter located in the area called the thoracic cavity is never obvious from the outside. however, it can be detected by x-ray or ultrasound. In these cases, the only procedure that needs to be done is surgical intervention. Apart from this, drug treatment or radioactive iodine treatment is not applied.