What We Treat

Here, we provide patients and referring physicians with information about our program, our experience and what to expect as one of our patients.

Our Program is led by specialist endocrine surgeons who perform comprehensive assessments of endocrine surgical disease, including diseases and tumors of the:

• Thyroid gland
• Parathyroid glands
• Adrenal glands
• Pancreas
• GI tract (stomach, intestines)

We welcome patients interested in initial consultations and second opinions. Our clinics are equipped with state-of-the-art ultrasound equipment, so patients can have a complete evaluation of the thyroid and parathyroid glands during their clinic consultations.

To provide the most rapid and accurate assessment of thyroid nodules, all of our physicians perform their own ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsies in the clinic.

Northwestern Medicine endocrine surgeons are specialists accustomed to managing complex surgical problems, such as:

• Thyroid nodules
  • All types of thyroid cancer
• Thyroid cancer that has spread to lymph nodes
• Recurrent thyroid cancer
• Graves’ disease
• Goiter
• Hyperparathyroidism
• Parathyroid cancer
• Pheochromocytoma
• Adrenal tumors, including those that make hormones
• Pancreas tumors that make hormones such as:
  • Insulinoma
  • Gastrinoma
•  Neuroendocrine and carcinoid tumors of all types in the abdomen
• Multiple endocrine neoplasia

We approach all of our patients with the goal of providing a minimally invasive solution to their medical condition. The majority of patients who require surgery will qualify for minimally invasive procedures, such as:

• Minimally invasive parathyroid surgery (including surgery under local or twilight anesthesia for selected patients)
• Minimal-incision thyroidectomy (removal of the thyroid)
• Laparoscopic and robotic adrenalectomy (removal of the adrenal gland[s])

In addition, we are involved in multiple clinical research projects to continuously improve the treatment of endocrine surgical problems.

Pushing the Boundaries of Medicine

In addition to the care we provide to our patients, our Program team is dedicated to improve the science and technique of treating thyroid and other endocrine surgical disorders, working alongside our colleagues at the Feinberg School of Medicine.

As faculty members of the Feinberg School of Medicine, Drs. Sturgeon, Elaraj, and Yang are actively engaged in providing outstanding, leading-edge treatment of endocrine surgical disorders today and are working towards new and better ways of addressing these conditions in the future.

The Feinberg School of Medicine has a rich history of basic and clinical science innovation, which our Program both benefits from and contributes to. Scholarly publications from our Endocrine Surgery team are accessible on their faculty profile pages.