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(352) 733-0111

Pediatric thyroid disease

Learn about pediatric thyroid disease

In UF Health’s Pediatric Thyroid Program, we’re cognizant of the fact that thyroid nodules may be present in up to 2% of young children and up to 13% of older adolescents and young adults. Most of these are benign (noncancerous) lesions such as adenomas, inflammatory lesions and cysts. However, up to 25% of these nodules may be malignant (cancerous), which is a higher rate than those found in adults.

Therefore, it is imperative that you seek care for your child with a surgeon to address nodules found on an exam or ultrasound. At UF Health, we have highly trained thyroid specialists to provide all the care your child needs.

Knowing what to expect can ease your fears and worries. This begins with a visit to meet our program’s expert endocrinologists and pediatric surgeons, where a thorough history and physical exam are performed. The necessary labs and imaging will be obtained, and our fellowship-trained and board-certified pediatric radiologists will review your child’s imaging, which are most commonly ultrasounds.

Once a nodule is identified, we will proceed with an outpatient, fine-needle biopsy procedure. This is performed under image guidance by our interventional radiologists and with the aid of anesthetics that may be performed by our pediatric anesthesiologists as needed. Once the biopsy sample is obtained, it will be reviewed by our pathologists and discussed amongst a multidisciplinary team to determine the best course of action to care for your child.

This careful process may simply lead to observation and monitoring, or it may reveal that surgery is required. Regardless of what you need, we will be with you every step of the way, guiding you through the process and putting your mind at rest. You can rest assured that your child can’t be in more capable hands when they’re being cared for by the specialists at UF Health.

Meet Dr. Shawn Larson

Shawn Larson, MD, leads our pediatric surgery team at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital, which also includes Steven Raymond, MD, and Janice Taylor, MD, MEd. Each of our surgeons is board-certified in pediatric surgery which means your child’s care team is expertly trained to perform both minor and complicated surgeries and procedures on babies, children and teens. In addition to our pediatric surgeons, we have a team of experienced Advanced Practice Providers who are all involved in your child’s care.