[Non surgical treatment of benign thyroid nodules: are there alternatives to thyroidectomy?].

Nodular disease of the thyroid is a very common disorder with which colleagues from all disciplines are frequently confronted. Particularly for patients with benign thyroid nodules or cystic lesions the expenditure and risks of standardly performed thyroidectomy stands in discrepancy with the clinical harmlessness of the disease. For this reason we would like to give an overview of possible non-surgical alternatives in the therapy of benign thyroid nodules and cysts, if they cause unpleasant symptoms. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.