Recently, an e-mail has been circulating regarding a suggestion
made by Dr. Oz that all women should request a thyroid shield when
undergoing mammography exams, stating that “it can’t hurt.” A
thyroid shield is a small piece of covered, leaded vinyl worn around
the neck to protect the thyroid from radiation exposure. While Dr. Oz
is obviously well-educated and well-intentioned, he is not a radiologist
or a medical physicist, the experts in the critical issues relating to his
suggestion. To put it simply, this email is providing bad advice.
Wearing thyroid shields during mammography exams is unsupported
by the scientific literature, and could actually result in unnecessary
increases in radiation exposure during mammography..
Numerous studies have shown that the diagnostic accuracy of
mammography has steadily increased over time, while the amount of
radiation required for this exam has steadily decreased.
Moreover, every mammography unit at Boulder Community Hospital
is tested by a physicist annually to confirm that the x-ray beam is
restricted so that only on the breast tissue is exposed during
exams. The thyroid is only exposed to tiny quantities of radiation that
are scattered from the breast that is being irradiated. The amount of
exposure has been measured to be negligibly small.
More importantly, thyroid shields are cumbersome when
technologists position patients for mammograms. Proper positioning
of the patient is critical to obtaining a high quality mammogram. The
American College of Radiology and the Society of Breast Imaging
have pointed out that interference with proper positioning caused by
thyroid shields can reduce the diagnostic quality of a mammogram to
the point where the procedure needs to be redone, unnecessarily
increasing the patient’s radiation exposure.
While we respect Dr. Oz and his expertise in surgery, his suggestion
that all women should wear thyroid shields during mammography
examinations is not supported by the facts and could result in
unnecessary increases in radiation exposure for patients. We strongly
recommend against wearing thyroid shields during mammography
exams.
Sincerely yours,
Douglas Pfeiffer, MS, DABR
Medical Physicist
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