Thyroid Program

Seattle Children’s Thyroid Program is the only multidisciplinary program in the Pacific Northwest to specialize in children and teens with thyroid conditions.

The program brings together experts from endocrinology, otolaryngology, general surgery, oncology and other fields to evaluate and address your child’s healthcare needs.

Seattle Children’s is proud to be recognized among the top places in the nation to care for children.

• The experts you need are here

  We work as a team, bringing a wealth of combined experience to your child’s care. We talk with each other and with you to coordinate your child’s diagnosis and treatment and connect you with the right specialists.

  If your child needs surgery, our otolaryngologists who are head and neck surgeons and our general surgeons have the special training and experience to perform surgery for infants, children and teens. We do many thyroid surgeries each year and are considered a high-volume surgical center.

  For children with thyroid cancer, Seattle Children’s oncologists and radiologists offer the most advanced treatment options.

• Our approach to biopsies is easier on your child
  • If your child has a thyroid nodule or thyroid mass, your child might need a biopsy (cell or tissue sample) to check for cancer. We get your child in quickly. For most children, we can do a physical exam and a fine-needle aspiration biopsy in the same clinic visit. Using a fine-needle procedure to draw up a sample is not as invasive as cutting into the skin and avoids the need for general anesthesia. Watch the video about the procedure.
  • We numb the area using a needle-free device called a J-tip that pushes medicine (buffered lidocaine) into your child’s skin with a strong puff of air. Then we use a very thin needle (thinner than for a blood draw) to take a sample of cells. We use ultrasound to guide the needle to the right place.
  • You and your child are in control – if your child feels too nervous about being awake during the biopsy, we schedule a biopsy under general anesthesia (so your child is unconscious) instead.
• We are active in research to advance pediatric care
  • Research on fine-needle aspiration biopsies for thyroid conditions shows our results for children and adolescents are as accurate as the results of doctors doing these biopsies for adults.
  • Surgery to remove the thyroid can disturb blood flow to the parathyroid glands, leading to low levels of calcium in the blood (hypocalcemia). This needs treatment and can extend a child’s hospital stay after surgery. A study at Seattle Children’s showed our patients are ready to leave the hospital sooner, compared to children in other studies, because of our methods to carefully manage low calcium.
  • Dr. Marguerite T. Parisi has been involved in many studies on the use of radioactive iodine (radioiodine, or I-131) therapy for overactive thyroid. She is part of the American Thyroid Association Pediatric Guidelines Committee. The committee develops guidelines to help doctors decide on the best care for children with specific thyroid conditions.