Might want to get a second opinion. They will likely be removing the right lobe of your thyroid.
This was totally different than my experience and I had the procedure done in Italy in 2017 and again in the US, after it was approved in the US.
For clarification, it is not radiation, but radio frequency ablation(RFA). No radiation, but a relatively harmless radio frequency, made just hot enough to ablate the nodule tissue.
In Italy they only worked on my right side. It was very effective, but I needed a follow up. I had it scheduled, then Covid hit. So, during the first couple of years of Covid it grew back, which sometimes happens if it is not finished off. By 2021 the procedure had been approved in the US and I had it done this time at UCLA. This time they went after the goiters/nodules on both lobes. First alcohol ablation, which is effective if the goiter has a large cystic component. The ethanol ablation causes the fluid part of the goiter to basically close up. Then, the only part remaining is the solid nodule. So RFA was next and finished them off.
You see the results of the ethanol ablation after about only 30 days, as the cyst closes up. The RFA treatment on the solid nodule takes 6 to 12 months to see full results. If you have a complex goiter, cystic and nodular, this is a very effective combination treatment. I am so pleased with the results and I kept both thyroid lobes and my thyroid is fully functional, with totally normal hormone levels.
If they are telling you that they can't do this treatment because it is only one lobe, I would definitely seek out a second opinion from UCLA, Mayo Clinic or some other center that specializes in these procedures. It is old school thinking to solve the problem by removing the entire thyroid or one of the lobes. If one has thyroid cancer, then yes, removal is still the best way to go. But for benign goiters, in my view, this is a much better option and will preserve your thyroid.
