Time required:
2 Day Procedure.

Purpose:
Uses radio-pharmaceuticals (Isotopes) to assess the size, shape, texture, location and physiology of the thyroid gland.The thyroid scan and uptake can assist your physician in determining various disease states of the thyroid, presence of nodules or goiters and can also assist in the determination of appropriate therapy for many different diseases of the thyroid.

Preparation:
There are no eating or drinking restrictions.Your physician may decide to temporarily discontinue certain thyroid hormones or antithyroid medications prior to the test. These are discontinued because they may offset the effectiveness of the test. DO NOT STOP any medication on your own without checking with your physician.

Test Procedure:
Day 1: The nuclear technologist will explain the procedure to you and will administer the radiopharmaceutical (in capsule form). You will then be asked to return in 4 hours for your images. Upon returning, you will lie down on a narrow table and the camera will take pictures of your thyroid. All initial thyroid scans will last at maximum 30 minutes.
Day 2: The thyroid uptake and scan procedure requires you to return on day 2 . Upon return to the facility, another scan of your thyroid will be performed which lasts approximately 10 minutes.
A written report will be sent to your physician upon completion of the test. Your doctor will then explain the results to you.