Got my path report today. And now I’m confused. Nowhere on it does it say that my thyroid had Graves’ disease & I wonder if that’s typical in Graves’ patients. Here’s the FINAL DIAGNOSIS section:
-Focal granulomatous inflammation & fibrosis (see comment).
-Few colloid nodules.
-Changes consistent w/ treated diffuse hyperplasia.
-Negative for malignancy.
Comment: “…the constellation of findings in these areas is most suggestive of granulomatous subacute thyroiditis (de Quervain thyroiditis)”.
Guess that I’m wondering if they typically don’t mention Graves’ on these reports? Or maybe one of these terms is doctor-speak for Graves’ changes? Or maybe there’s nothing significantly different, pathologically speaking, between a normal thyroid & a Graves’ thyroid? And I’m really confused where the Quervain thyroiditis diagnosis fits into the whole thing (an illness that goes away on its own apparently). Perhaps a side effect of iodine drops? I’m going to ask my docs, but curious in the meantime.
Wondering if Graves’ is mentioned specifically in others’ post-operative path reports? Or if this wording looks pretty standard.
In a way, it would be a relief to find out that it doesn’t say Graves’ anywhere cuz I don’t have Graves’. In another way, that would be really upsetting since it doesn’t sound like thyroiditis requires ATDs, TT or RAI – just time.
