A 70-year-old woman successfully had a 500-gram goiter removed at the South Campus of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University last week. Thus, the "goiter" that had plagued her for 20 years was finally cured by the surgery. Experts stated that although the elderly woman's condition is relatively rare, the number of patients undergoing surgery for hyperthyroidism has increased in recent years, especially among highly educated women. This is related to excessive iodine intake, high work stress, and mental tension.
Associate Professor Huang Tianli, from the Thyroid and Vascular Surgery department who performed the surgery, explained that Grandma Chen initially came for treatment due to high blood pressure and headaches. It was later discovered that she also suffered from severe hyperthyroid heart disease and severe mitral regurgitation. After discussion among experts, hyperthyroidism was identified as the root cause of her condition; treating this illness would make it easier to treat the others. Fortunately, Grandma Chen's surgery went smoothly, completed in less than 2 hours, with a 500-gram thyroid removed.
Huang Tianli said that it is relatively rare for a patient of such an advanced age to have such a large thyroid. Generally, primary hyperthyroidism mostly occurs around the age of 30, while secondary hyperthyroidism mostly occurs around the age of 50. Typically, the thyroid of an adult in China is about 25-30 grams, while in other countries, it's only about 20 grams. Although Grandma Chen's situation is special, it is not uncommon for patients to undergo surgery for "hyperthyroidism" nowadays. This may be related to excessive iodine intake.
Huang Tianli stated that recently, whether in outpatient clinics or inpatient wards, the number of patients undergoing thyroidectomy has increased compared to the past, which is related to iodine intake. It was traditionally believed that "hyperthyroidism" was caused by iodine deficiency, but modern medicine has found that excessive iodine intake can also lead to "hyperthyroidism". The increase in hyperthyroidism patients in the Pearl River Delta coastal areas in recent years is a good proof of this theory. Nowadays, the standard of living in Guangzhou is continuously improving. It is very common to eat seafood such as fish, shrimp, and crabs, and even some rarer deep-sea fish. At the same time, by-products like jellyfish and kelp have been made into various cold dishes and have entered the tables of ordinary people. The amount of iodine in these seafood products and the iodine in the iodized salt we consume daily are sufficient to meet our body's basic needs for iodine, and may even lead to an excess. This excess iodine affects the normal function of the thyroid gland over a long period, leading to "hyperthyroidism".
Therefore, people should pay attention to adjusting their daily diet structure and avoid consuming large amounts of seafood for extended periods.
Huang Tianli also mentioned that there are more female patients with "hyperthyroidism," and the proportion of highly educated female patients has been on the rise in recent years. This is related to the fierce competition in modern society, high work pressure for women, leading to mental tension and irregular life schedules.
Many female patients are quite "aggressive" in the treatment of "hyperthyroidism," hoping to cure the disease with a single surgery to avoid affecting their normal work. Some even request surgical treatment in the early stages of "hyperthyroidism," feeling that drug treatment is too slow. In fact, the treatment of hyperthyroidism is a process. It often starts with medication to control the secretion of thyroid hormones. If the medication is not effective, the thyroid grows large and quickly, and the condition is severe with a long history, meeting the criteria for surgical resection, then surgery can be performed.