Diagnostic Accuracy of Shear-Wave Elastography for the Preoperative Risk Stratification of Follicular Lesions of the Thyroid

As many as 70-85% subjects diagnosed with a follicular lesion on biopsy and undergoing surgery will have benign lesions verified by histopathology after surgery. Currently there is no method of pre-operatively diagnosing benign follicular lesions, as a result these subjects will have had surgery for diagnosis of a benign lesion. The aim of this study is to see whether shear-wave elastography, a new ultrasound technology can help pre-operatively diagnose benign follicular lesions. If successful, a lot of patients will not need surgery for the diagnosis of a benign lesion. The main goal of this study will be to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a new ultrasound technology, shear-wave elastography (SWE), for the diagnosis of malignancy in follicular lesions. Participants who have been diagnosed with a follicular lesion on thyroid biopsy and are scheduled for thyroid surgery will be eligible to participate. All participants will undergo a detailed ultrasound examination prior to their surgery. The results of the ultrasound will be compared with histopathology after surgery to test the diagnostic accuracy of SWE.