Private thyroid biopsy at our Central London Clinic
At London Private Ultrasound, we offer an ultrasound-guided Thyroid biopsy. The goal of a biopsy is to remove a sample of tissue for testing in a laboratory. A biopsy can help diagnose abnormalities such as benign and malignant thyroid tumors. During your biopsy, our experienced clinicians will use an ultrasound scanner to accurately guide a needle to the site of the biopsy. The needle will then be used to remove a tissue sample.
Private Thyroid Biopsy
The FNA biopsy is one of our essential services within the Thyroid and neck ultrasound services and allows you to take advantage of expert medical specialists and advanced technological image guidance. The series of Questions and Answers below should provide you with additional information regarding the treatment and any preparations required, however, should you wish to speak to us at the clinic we would be happy to talk you through the procedure.
Booking your Thyroid Biopsy Clinic
Currently we do not accept online bookings for these appointments, however we are usually able to schedule a time either as an emergency or routine appointment and would encourage you to call one of our experienced clinicians. The links provided allow you to contact us by phone, email or whatsApp. To speak to our clinic, based just a few moments walk from Bond Street tube station, Central London – 0207 101 3377
Thyroid Biopsy Costs and Information:
At the London Private Ultrasound, multiple layers of evaluation are designed to help you avoid invasive tests and surgery whenever possible. Consultation, ultrasound, and FNA can all be performed in a single visit.
Initial evaluation of a newly discovered thyroid nodule begins with:
- Thyroid function tests (laboratory tests)
- Neck ultrasound performed by our expert clinicians
An ultrasound is a highly accurate tool to visualize your nodule. There is no associated radiation with ultrasounds and it is non-invasive. Ultrasounds are cost-effective as most patients really don’t need any other imaging because the ultrasounds are the best way to look at the thyroid, all present nodules, and the lymph nodes in the neck.
Not all thyroid nodules need a biopsy. Many thyroid nodules we see in our office, we choose not to biopsy because the ultrasound appearance is so reassuring. That is one way to avoid over-treatment. For example, nodules that appear completely black on the inside (“anechoic”) are purely cystic or filled with fluid. The chance of cancer for a cystic nodule is essentially zero and cystic nodules do not require biopsy. Some guidelines will help your clinician determine which nodules to biopsy based on their size and how suspicious they look on the ultrasound.
No, Not all nodules are cancerous. Certain factors make a nodule suspicious for thyroid cancer. For example, nodules that do not have smooth borders or have little bright white spots (micro-calcifications) on the ultrasound would make your doctor suspects that there is thyroid cancer present. If the nodule appears suspicious on ultrasound and is larger than 1cm, the next step is to do a thyroid biopsy.
- A thyroid biopsy also called a fine needle aspiration (FNA), uses a small needle to take a little sample of the cells in the thyroid nodule.
- You may be given a local anesthetic or a cold, numbing spray. This will only numb the area around the site of the procedure. You will remain fully awake.
- The clinician will scan you using an ultrasound probe.
- when the needle is inserted we ask you not to talk or swallow. The doctor often will perform more than one biopsy/needle stick.
- This biopsy itself usually takes approximately 15-30 minutes.
The possible outcomes from a biopsy are:
Non-diagnostic: Non-diagnostic is a technically failed biopsy. There were not enough cells taken during the biopsy so the cytologist was not able to determine anything. These usually need to be repeated.
Benign: Most thyroid nodule biopsies come back benign, meaning you can be highly reassured that it’s not cancerous. Patients can almost always avoid surgery unless the nodule is large and pushing on adjacent structures like the airway.
Indeterminate: Indeterminate means there were enough cells taken during the biopsy, but the cytopathologist was not sure if it is benign or malignant. Indeterminate results occur in about 20% of thyroid biopsies. This is a gray zone and means that the risk of cancer is about 10-30%. These nodules require additional workups such as a repeat biopsy, molecular marker test, or surgical removal.
• Suspicious for Malignancy or Malignant: Results categorized in these two categories are a strong indicator that there is cancer present and usually require surgical removal.
Patients usually have to wait one week for the cytopathologist to examine the cellular characteristic of the biopsy sample. If your result is reassuring that it’s not cancerous, further workup will be stopped and serial ultrasound surveillance will be recommended usually once a year.
- You can eat and drink normally before your procedure.
- Please consult your clinician about stopping your blood thinner medication five days before your ultrasound-guided biopsy.
- You will need to wear a hospital gown for this procedure, so please wear clothing that you can change easily.
- You may eat and drink as normal after leaving the center. You do not need to modify your activity level after the procedure. You will be able to drive after your biopsy.
- The tissue sample will be sent to a laboratory for examination. Results from the test will be sent to us and will be reported to you. It may take up to a week to get the results from the pathology department.
- Your clinician will discuss these results with you and explain what they mean in relation to your health.
The cost of our FNA Thyroid biopsy is £700 and can be booked online without the need for GP referal. Should you wish to have additional consultations or advice, these can be arranged for you at our Central London Ultrasound clinic - just a few mins walk from Bond Street Tube Station.
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