Nuclear Scan-Why?

[VickiO]

Hello!

First of all, I really appreciate this site.  Thanks so much for spending the time to answer our questions!

I recently went to an otolaryngologist for an unrelated reason, and he noticed what he thinks is a lingual thyroid.  The doctor wasn't convinced that that's what it was, but he didn't seem terribly concerned.  I'm scheduled to get a thyroid nuclear scan in a month and a half, and I think that's to verify that the entity is, in fact, my thyroid.  Because of the brevity of my visit, I was left with some questions about this whole thing, and the literature on lingual thyroids is pretty limited.

My questions, I guess, are as follows.  
What is the nuclear scan going to tell me?  What I've read suggests that nuclear scans measure thyroid activity, but my blood tests came back normal (a little past the normal range, but my primary care physician deemed me not hypo).
If the mass isn't a thyroid, what else could it be?  I can only think of a tumor, which is terrifying, but the doctor's lack of concern and the fact that he said I could wait so long for the test makes me think that's not reasonable.

Thanks again for your time and expertise!

[VickiO]

I did not get a CT...it was only a brief visual exam in the doctor's office.  I think I will take your advice and go through with the test sooner rather than later.
Thank you.

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

Lingual thyroid is not common -- sometimes there is a small amount of thyroid tissue there, other times the whole thyroid is there.  The nuc med scan in this case is not for function, but to document there is iodine uptake in the lingual area -- supporting that this is indeed thyroid tissue and not another type of mass.  The 6 week wait, my guess, is because you had a CT of the neck with contrast so the iodine won't be taken up by thyroid tissue until at least 6 weeks....if this is not the case, go ahead with the scan as soon as possible.

If it's not clearly thyroid, then you will need to talk to the ENT about a biopsy or other studies to see what it is.  

[borninquisitive]

"but we also have palantine tonsils that reside at the base of our tongue."

Whoops, correction: lingual tonsils.

Sorry for the confusion.

[borninquisitive]

"If the mass isn't a thyroid, what else could it be?"

If it isn't a lingual thyroid-could it be swollen lingual tonsils? A question to ask your doctor.
Most of us are just aware of Palatine tonsils (what we see when we open our mouth: those two "lumps" on each side of our throat) but we also have palantine tonsils that reside at the base of our tongue.

Best!