Technical issues in ultrasound-guided ethanol ablation for thyroid lesions

Ultrasound-guided ethanol ablation versus the Sistrunk operation as a primary treatment for thyroglossal duct cysts

“…At the conclusion of the EA procedure, the injected ethanol was not aspirated but was instead retained within the TGDC. This was based on the presumption that retaining the ethanol would yield superior treatment outcomes, even with a small amount of ethanol, as suggested by several studies on EA for cystic thyroid nodules [12][13][14]. For TGDCs with viscous contents that could not be fully aspirated, approximately 1 mL of ethanol was injected during the initial EA session to liquefy the contents.…”

“…Second, the present study employed the retention method; this contrasts with several studies that used the aspiration method, which involves the aspiration of injected ethanol at the end of the EA procedure after a retention time of 5-10 minutes [7][8][9][10]16,19,22]. In fact, although no consensus exists on whether ethanol should be fully aspirated after instillation, these authors presumed that retention of the injected ethanol may be associated with better treatment outcomes, as the duration of the chemical reaction is longer than with the aspiration method [13,14]. However, since no individual studies have directly compared the retention and aspiration methods of EA for TGDCs with regard to treatment efficacy and complications, this technical variation remains at the discretion of the operator.…”