Use of thyroid scans in the selection of surgical patients

The radionuclide scan should not be used for the routine evaluation of the thyroid gland. Instead, it should be used selectively when indicated by careful clinical judgement. The decision as to whether for not to operate should not be based solely on the findings of the thyroid scan. On the other hand, the presence of a solitary cold nodule should not be the only reason for operation in order to exclude the possibility of malignancy, because a significant percentage of thyroid cancers may be found in areas other than cold nodules [4,5]. Again, clinical judgement is the most reliable and cost-effective method to evaluate a thyroid mass.