title: The treatment and preoperative diagnosis of differentiated thyroid carcinoma presenting as a clinically solitary nodule.
abstract: Some papillary and follicular carcinomas of the thyroid present as solitary nodules with no clinical or radiological evidence of metastases. The elective treatment of such early thyroid carcinomas is discussed, with particular reference to the surgical approach to the clinically solitary nodule. The investigations available for establishing a preoperative diagnosis of the pathology of a solitary nodule are also discussed. A high degree of accuracy is obtainable but absolute certainty, only occasionally. If doubt exists, the safe treatment is excision of the nodule and frozen section.
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D000236:Adenoma / Q000175:diagnosis; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013965:Thyroidectomy; D013997:Time Factors