MDNews - Long Island

S OUTH NA S SAU COM M U N ITIE S Hospital's Thyroid Center was established to deliver com- prehensive thyroid care with individualized treatment plans. These plans are constructed by physicians collaborat- ing with the patient to evaluate potential treatment options, develop a consensus and establish the direction of care, notes Rajiv V. Datta, MD, FRCS, FACS, FICS, Medical Director, The Gertrude & Louis Feil Cancer Center; Chair, Department of Surgery; and Division Director, Surgical Oncology/Head & Neck Surgery at South Nassau Communities Hospital. "I built this program because I'm fascinated by the thyroid and the continu- ing surge in thyroid cancer diagnoses," Dr. Datta says. "Every referred patient deserves a thorough discussion from a panel of experts who bring various skill sets to the table." This "surge of diagnoses" has been the result of nodules detected on imaging studies ordered for unrelated disease pro- cesses. Although the vast majority of these nodules are benign, unfamiliarity with current guidelines for treatment processes can lead physicians to order a number of unnecessary — and invasive — interven- tions, including total thyroidectomy with neck dissection. "Care for thyroid cancer has evolved significantly," says Steven Lomasky, MD, Chief of Endocrine and Diabetes and Chair of the Endocrine Disease Management Committee at South Nassau Communities Hospita l. "Nodules a re frequently discovered incidentally, and in most cases — particularly in younger patients — it's an indolent disease with an excellent prognosis. Years ago, the recommenda- tions called for radical approaches, but now we employ conservative treat- ments with decades-long timelines for serial monitoring." To best evaluate and treat patients suf- fering from the broad spectrum of thyroid diseases or dysfunctions, which include nodules, goiters and cancers, the Thyroid Center marshals the expertise of ultra- sound specialists Matthew Rifkin, MD, Chair of Radiology at South Nassau Communities Hospital, and Abraham Port, MD, Medical Director of Breast Imaging at South Nassau and Medical Director of Breast Imaging at Complete Women's Imaging, as well as pathologists/ cytologists, surgeons, endocrinologists and nuclear medicine specialists. Dramatic Rise in Thyroid Cancer Diagnoses During a time when incidence rates for many historically prevalent cancers are dropping, increasing numbers of patients are being diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Statistics compiled over multiple decades by the Nationa l Cancer Institute's TERTIARY-LEVEL STANDARDS OF CARE FOR THE SPECTRUM OF THYROID CONDITIONS ARE NOW AVAILABLE TO THE LONG ISLAND COMMUNITY. South Nassau Communities Hospital: A Resource for Thyroid Health Management By Michael Ferguson Rajiv V. Datta, MD, FRCS, FACS, FICS, Medical Director, The Gertrude & Louis Feil Cancer Center, Chair, Department of Surgery and Division Director, Surgical Oncology/Head and Neck Surgery at South Nassau Communities Hospital, performs a fiber-optic laryngoscopy on a preoperative thyroid patient to examine her vocal cords. COV ER FE AT UR E 6 | Long Island MD NEWS ■ M D N E W S . CO M

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