The clinical experience of interventional embolization in treatment of graves disease

Objective: To evaluate the method and result of thyroid artery embolization as a new therapy for Graves disease. Methods: Ten patients with Graves disease underwent selective thyroid artery embolization. Totally 25 thyroid arteries were embolized with PVA microspheres. The indications to this therapy were as following: Graves disease with recurrent clinical symptoms or with leucopenia during the period of treating with administration of antithyroid drugs or recurrence after subtotal thyroidectomy. Results: Serum level of thyroid hormones dropped significantly [median FT3 from 20.90 pmol/L (13.36-50.92 pmol/L) to 7.81 pmol/L (3.67-35.3 pmol/L), median FT4 from 57.9 pmol/L (30.96-57.9 pmol/L) to 28.13 pmol/L (20.44-39.60 pmol/L), (P < 0.005)] and then followed-up for 5-8 months. The symptoms of hyperthyroidism were controlled in 7 patients and the remaining 3 cases were treated with lower dosage of antithyroid drug therapy. None serious complications were found. Conclusions: thyroid artery embolization represents a promising new method for treating Graves disease with safety and good clinical results. Further investigation would be required to assess its long-term effect