American College of Surgeons Thyroid and Parathyroid Ultrasound Skills-Oriented Course

Managed by the University of California San Francisco in collaboration with Tripler Army Medical Center, the objective of this course is to introduce the practicing surgeon to office-based examination of the thyroid and parathyroid glands and related pathology. Participants will be instructed in the practical details and hurdles in developing office-based ultrasound, including credentialing and coding issues. The distinction between normal and malignant lymphadenopathy will be emphasized with a demonstration of comprehensive examination, ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) of thyroid nodules and enlarged lymph nodes. In addition, the hands-on skill sessions allow the surgeon to learn varied techniques of FNA phantom models. The use of patient volunteer models will allow supervised hands-on experience with expert feedback. Registration will close 1/29/15.