Best Thyroid Nodule Specialist in Dubai – Dr. Muhammad Jabbr

Perhaps a scan for something else picked up a lump in your thyroid. Or you spotted a small swelling at the front of your neck. Here is some comfort: most thyroid nodules are harmless. Still, each one needs the right tests, in the right order. If you are looking for a thyroid nodule specialist in Dubai, this guide explains those tests and what your results mean.

Dr. Muhammad Jabbr is an ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon in Dubai. People looking for one of the best thyroid nodule doctors in the city see him for a calm, clear, step-by-step check.

What is a thyroid nodule?

The thyroid sits low in the front of the neck, just below the Adam's apple. It makes the hormones that set the pace of your metabolism.

A nodule is a lump or patch inside the gland that looks different from the tissue around it. It can be:

• Solid – made of thyroid cells or other tissue.
• Cystic – filled mostly with fluid.
• Mixed – partly solid and partly fluid.

An enlarged gland with several nodules is called a multinodular goitre.

How common are thyroid nodules, and are they usually cancer?

Thyroid nodules are very common, and many are found by chance on a scan. They become more common with age and are seen more often in women.

The large majority are benign, so they are not cancer. Some things raise the level of concern:

• Radiation to the head or neck in childhood.
• A parent, brother or sister with thyroid cancer.
• A nodule that grows quickly, or feels hard and fixed.
• A lasting hoarse voice, or swollen lymph glands in the neck.

Nodules are uncommon in children. When a child has one, it needs a careful check, because the chance of cancer is higher than in adults.

Can a thyroid nodule cause symptoms?

Small nodules usually cause none. Larger ones may cause:

• A lump you can see or feel.
• Pressure or tightness, especially when lying flat.
• Trouble swallowing large tablets or food.
• Rarely, a hoarse voice, which always needs a prompt check.

Some "hot" nodules make extra thyroid hormone. They may cause weight loss, a racing heart, shaky hands or feeling too hot.

Not every neck lump comes from the thyroid. Our neck lump specialist in Dubai page covers other causes, such as swollen glands and cysts.

What happens at your first visit to a thyroid nodule specialist in Dubai?

History and examination

You will be asked about your symptoms, your family history and any past radiation. The doctor then feels your neck while you swallow, since a thyroid nodule usually rises with the gland. The lymph glands in your neck are checked too.

The voice box nerves pass close to the thyroid. If your voice has changed, an ENT surgeon can watch your vocal cords move with a thin, flexible scope in the clinic (laryngoscopy). Our laryngologist in Dubai page explains this check.

Blood tests

The first blood test is usually TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone). It shows whether your thyroid is working normally, too fast or too slow.

• Normal or high TSH – an ultrasound is the next step. A high TSH may also mean an underactive thyroid, often from Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
• Low TSH – this may point to a "hot" nodule. A thyroid uptake scan may be advised. Hot nodules are very rarely cancer, so they often do not need a needle test.

What does a thyroid ultrasound and TI-RADS score tell you?

Ultrasound is the main test for a thyroid nodule. It is quick, painless and uses no radiation. It measures each nodule and looks at:

• Whether it is solid, fluid-filled or mixed.
• How dark it looks next to normal thyroid tissue.
• Whether its edges are smooth or irregular.
• Whether it is taller than it is wide.
• Tiny bright spots, called microcalcifications.
• The lymph glands nearby.

Many radiologists score these features with TI-RADS. In a common version, each feature earns points, and the total gives a group from TR1 to TR5:

• TR1 and TR2 – benign or not suspicious. Usually no needle test is needed.
• TR3 – mildly suspicious.
• TR4 – moderately suspicious.
• TR5 – highly suspicious.

The group and the size of the nodule guide the next step. The higher the score, the smaller the size at which a needle test is advised. So a small TR3 nodule may simply be watched, while a larger TR4 or TR5 nodule is usually sampled.

What is a fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy?

An FNA is a short clinic procedure. Guided by ultrasound, a very fine needle is passed into the nodule to draw out a small sample of cells.

It usually feels like a pinch or brief pressure. Mild soreness or a small bruise may follow, but most people carry on as normal that day. Tell your doctor beforehand if you take blood thinners.

A pathologist studies the sample and reports it using the Bethesda system.

How do you read your Bethesda result?

The Bethesda system sorts FNA results into six groups:

1. Non-diagnostic – not enough cells were collected. The FNA is usually repeated.
2. Benign – the nodule is not cancer. This is the most common result, and follow-up ultrasound is usually enough.
3. Atypia of undetermined significance (AUS) – the cells look a little unusual. A repeat FNA or molecular testing on the sample may be advised.
4. Follicular neoplasm – the cells form a pattern that a needle sample cannot fully judge. Molecular testing, or removing half of the thyroid, may be suggested.
5. Suspicious for malignancy – the cells look worrying, but the result is not certain. Surgery is usually discussed.
6. Malignant – the cells show cancer, most often papillary thyroid cancer, which usually grows slowly.

Watch or treat: how is the decision made?

Many nodules never need treatment. The plan depends on your results, your symptoms and your own wishes.

Signs that regular scans are enough

• The nodule is benign on FNA, or low-risk on ultrasound.
• It causes no pressure, swallowing or breathing problems.
• Your thyroid blood tests are normal.

Watching means repeat ultrasound scans, spaced further apart if nothing changes.

Signs that treatment may help

• The FNA result is suspicious or shows cancer.
• The nodule keeps growing, or its look on ultrasound changes.
• It presses on your windpipe or food pipe.
• It is an overactive nodule, or it bothers you because of its size.

Depending on the cause, options may include medicine or radioactive iodine for an overactive nodule, or draining a fluid-filled cyst, which can refill. Some benign nodules that cause symptoms may suit a non-surgical ablation treatment. Others need an operation, which our thyroid surgery page explains. If cancer is confirmed, the head and neck cancer surgery page describes the wider care.

Which nodule symptoms should not wait?

Arrange a prompt review if you notice:

• A neck lump that is still there after 3 weeks, if you are an adult.
• A nodule that gets bigger over a few weeks.
• A hoarse voice lasting longer than 3 weeks.
• New difficulty swallowing.

Seek emergency care at once if you have trouble breathing, noisy breathing, sudden painful neck swelling, or a fever with a hot, tender swelling in the neck.

How Dr. Muhammad Jabbr approaches a thyroid nodule

The thyroid lies beside the voice box and the windpipe. As a Consultant ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon, Dr. Muhammad Jabbr is trained in this whole part of the neck.

• Qualifications: MD, MS, DOHNS (England), European Board ORL-HNS and Arab Board ORL-HNS.
• Background: over 20 years in ENT and more than 3,000 ENT procedures.
• Results explained: he puts your tests together and tells you what each one means.
• All ages: he sees both adults and children.

Patients rate him 4.9 on Google across 406 reviews. The head and neck surgeon page lists the other conditions he manages.

Book an appointment

Dr. Muhammad Jabbr's clinic is in the ENT Department, Medcare Hospital, Hadiqa Street, Al Safa 1, Dubai. Bring any earlier ultrasound, blood test or FNA reports.

Book your visit online, or phone +971 52 751 7811.

Frequently Asked Questions

The bottom line

Most thyroid nodules are harmless. A blood test, a good ultrasound and, when needed, an FNA usually give a clear answer. If you want an experienced thyroid nodule specialist in Dubai to explain your results, Dr. Muhammad Jabbr can help.