Further chapters focus on such topics as ultrasound examination after thyroid surgery and ultrasound diagnosis of parathyroid disease recurrent goiter and neck masses. A thyroid ultrasound is a safe painless procedure that uses sound waves to examine the thyroid gland it can be used to help diagnose a wide range of medical conditions affecting the thyroid gland including benign thyroid nodules and possible thyroid cancers serhiibobyk istock getty images plus getty images. Detailed attention is then devoted to findings in the normal thyroid and in the presence of diffuse and focal changes further chapters focus on such topics as ultrasound examination after thyroid surgery and ultrasound diagnosis of parathyroid disease recurrent goiter and neck masses. Ultrasonography is a useful and essential tool to make this diagnosis based on the characteristics of the disease in the differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules ultrasound guided fine needle biopsy is an effective method to distinguish hashimotos thyroiditis from other thyroid disorders