The cyst of the thyroid gland is a nodular formation, which necessarily has an internal cavity filled with liquid secretion. The formation of such nodes in this endocrine organ is quite common – more often this pathology is found among women, and with increasing age of the patient, the likelihood of developing the disease increases several times. In patients of the older age group, the cyst is the most common disease of the thyroid gland – with careful examination, these neoplasms can be found in half of women aged 75 and older.  

CAUSES OF CYST FORMATION IN THE THYROID GLAND

Thyroid cysts are formed with a hereditary predisposition to this process. The reason may be iodine deficiency, the effect of toxic substances on the human body, radiation therapy, or exposure to radiation.

thyroid follicles

A cyst is formed in cases when the body disrupts the normal outflow (absorption processes) of the contents of the thyroid follicles into the blood or, for some reason, its production increases sharply – this leads to the accumulation of secretions inside the follicle. The follicle itself is gradually increasing in size. It should be noted that thyroid cysts are also formed in places of microbleeds in the follicles of the thyroid gland or due to the occurrence of dystrophy or hypertrophy in them (provided that the thyroid tissues are insufficiently developed or, conversely, with their hypertrophy). In some cases, vascular diseases can provoke the formation of thyroid cysts, in which the functioning of the microvasculature (capillaries located in the tissue of the organ) changes.    

CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF THE CYST OF THE THYROID

Such formations do not disrupt the functioning of the thyroid gland, only with the development of concomitant lesions of the gland, the corresponding symptoms develop. Often a person does not suspect about this pathology and discovers it during a medical examination. Only the late stages of the development of the thyroid cyst, when the node becomes noticeable visually and deformity of the neck develops, force the patients to go to a medical institution to find out the causes of these symptoms.

With the progression of this disease, patients complain of:

• a feeling of a growing “lump” in the throat – this symptom progresses very slowly, and is uncomfortable only when a really large size of the formation is reached;   
• breathing disorders – in the overwhelming majority of cases occur with intense physical activity; 
• swallowing disorders – more pronounced when eating dry food, the appearance of this symptom when drinking indicates significant compression of the esophagus and a large size of the neoplasm; 
• loss of voice or hoarseness – largely due to compression of the laryngeal nerve; 
• a sensation of astringency in the throat;
• neck pain – more often appears when the nodes are peripheral and they reach a large volume, disappears almost immediately after the necessary treatment; 
• swollen lymph nodes.

All symptoms are associated with compression of adjacent tissues by a cyst, which over time increases significantly in size. It must be said that malignant degeneration of thyroid cysts is rare, more often the growth of these formations is very slow, for several years there may be no noticeable negative dynamics. There are also cases when the thyroid cyst disappears on its own, but this course of the disease, unfortunately, is very rare.

Since a cyst is an isoechoic heterogeneous node with a slow filling of its cavity with fluid and cells that have collapsed, several stages can be distinguished in the development of the disease: 

1. the formation of a cyst – almost always starts asymptomatically, the pathological process can be accidentally detected during a preventive ultrasound of the thyroid gland;  
2. an increase in size due to the accumulation of a large amount of liquid content – at this time, the severity of the manifestations of the disease is maximum, and it can be detected both during a routine examination of the patient and during instrumental diagnostic methods; 
3. the stage of resorption and scarring – the speed and nature of this process depends on the size of the formed cysts, on the state of activity of the immune system, as well as on the level of compensatory and adaptive reactions, both of the thyroid gland itself and the body as a whole.  

Cysts that develop in the thyroid gland can be complicated by inflammation and suppuration, which provokes severe neck pain, high fever and general intoxication.

BASICS OF THYROID CYST TREATMENT

If the cyst is less than 1 cm in size, the patient is subject to systematic examination. In cases where these formations increase, the evacuation of the liquid contents is carried out using punctures. It should be noted that in cases where the cyst cavity is quickly filled with new fluid, it is better to remove it surgically. If a thyroid cyst is found, treatment can be carried out with iodine preparations or thyroid hormones, but this is permissible only in cases where its size is small, and patients do not present any complaints. In this case, it is necessary to control the level of antibodies in the blood. 

With an increase in the antibody titer, hormonal drugs are immediately canceled. If the cyst is complicated by the inflammatory process, antibacterial drugs are included in the therapy. With a mild course of thyroid cysts, alternative methods of treatment can be used in the form of saline compresses on the neck area. It should be remembered that any methods of non-traditional therapy must be coordinated with a doctor.     

Thyroid cyst is currently a fairly common pathology, the likelihood of occurrence increases significantly with age, therefore, timely diagnosis and effective treatment of the disease should be given special attention.