What should autoimmune thyroiditis be considered for?

Abstract

Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease that usually requires medical treatment but sometimes benefits from surgical treatment. The reasons why patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis requires thyroidectomy are (a) malignant lymphoma (b) repeated acute exacerbation of thyroiditis and (c) concern of coexisting thyroid neoplasm from Hashimoto's thyroiditis. We present three patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, a 69-year-old woman with MALT lymphoma, a 53-year-old woman with repeated episodes of neckpain and a 67-year-old woman with a coexistent benign thyroid nodule. These three patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis received surgical treatment and had an excellent outcome and document that some patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis warrant surgical treatment.