The following symptoms and complaints may indicate goiter (goiter):
- Enlargement of the thyroid gland, possibly with the following complications:
- Dysphagia (dysphagia).
- Stridor (whistling breathing sound) or dyspnea (shortness of breath) – due to constriction of the trachea.
- Tracheomalacia (synonym: saber sheath trachea; disease characterized by slackening of the trachea).
- Upper influence congestion (OES) – congestion of the veins of the head and upper limbs due to compression of the vena cavae.
- Recurrent paresis* * – paralysis of the recurrent laryngeal nerve.
- Horner symptomatology* * (Horner syndrome) – Horner triad consisting of: Pupillary constriction (miosis), drooping of the upper eyelid (ptosis) and an apparently sunken eyeball (pseudoenophthalmos).
- Cardiac hypertrophy (heart enlargement; also called: goiter heart) – due to impaired blood circulation in the thorax (chest).
- Pemberton’s sign – fainting spells with swelling of the face and upper influence congestion of the external jugular veins (jugular vein; jugular vein), which occurs when lifting the arms.
* Retrosternal (localized behind the sternum) or retrotracheal (localized behind the trachea) growth * * Rapidly growing nodule, recurrent paresis or Horner’s symptomatology are always suspicious for thyroid cancer!
Other clues
- A goiter moves during swallowing.
- A visible goiter can be assumed from a volume of approximately 40 ml. Mechanical impairment of the trachea (windpipe) or esophagus/esophagus (tracheal and/or esophageal compression) is present in approximately 30-85% of patients in the surgical collective, in apparently asymptomatic patients!
Warning signs (red flags)
The following are clues to the presence of carcinoma (cancer):
- Anamnestic information
- Positive family history
- Age < 14 years or > 70 years
- Condition after radiotherapy in the head and neck region.
- Hoarseness, dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), stridor (breathing sound when exhaling), and cough.
- Examination findings: growing nodes, hard nodes; lack of swallowing displacement of nodes or thyroid gland; enlarged cervical lymph nodes (in the neck region).