PATIENT NO, 20 (continued)
gamma dose of 175 rads, an undetermined dose to the skin surfaces, and some
internal absorption of fallout material.
It was estimated that the thyroid
gland received a dose of somewhere between 700-1,400 rads, largely from radio-~
iodine absorbed in the fallout.
He was nauseated the day following the fallout
and also complained of some itching and burning of the skin. About two weeks
after exposure, he had epilation of the head,

along with radiation burns of

the scalp, neck, and toes.
These lesions were not severe and healed with only
slight residual depigmentation in the following weeks. The hair regrew by 6
months. He showed mild leukopenia and platelet depression during the first
several months following exposure but with no complications. His blood elements
had returned to the normal range by the end of the first year.
Since that
time he has been generally in good health and has apparently been euthyroid
(1963 PBI 5.5 we%).
Compared with unexposed boys of the same age, however,
he has shown a slight degree of retardation in growth based on anthropometric
and bone age studies.
Physical Examinat‘2n: The patient was well nourished and developed but appeared
to be somewhat sr -.ler than normal for his age. The thyroid was not enlarged,
but a 1.5 em diameter nodule,

firm in character, was noted in the right

lower

pole of the gland. The nodule was not tender and moved on swallowing. No
other nodules were palpated and no regional adenopathy was noted. The remainder
of the physical examination was essentially negative.
:
Laboratory and X-Ray Data;
Thyroid Work-Up:
PBI 6.1 wg%, todine fractionation:
total I 6.5 ye%, iodoprotein 1.3 we%, thyronine (T4 + T3) 4.2 ug%. Thyroid autoantibodies under 1:16.
Cholesterol 170 mg% with esters 144 mg%. BMR -12. Thyroid
scan (99MPc) showed "cold" nodule at lower lobe.
1327 uptake studies showed 40%
uptake in 6 hours with 32.5% urinary excretion at that time. Following TSH stimula:
tion for three days, the uptake was only 33.7% at 5-1/2 hours, with urinary
excretion 18.5%.
PBI 6.8 ug%. The blood count was within normal limits; alkaline
phosphatase was slightly low (4.4 units), total protein slightly elevated, 8.2 gm
with globulins 3.9 gm. Within normal ranges were:
prothrombin time, sedimentation rate, bilirubin, cephalin flocculation, transaminase, Ca, P, thymol turbidity,
FBS, BUN, CO9, Cl, Na, K.
Normal also were EKG, slit lamp examination, urinalysis,

and stools for ova and parasites.
chest.

Chest plate showed no active disease in the

Hospital Course;
The patient remained asymptomatic while here.
On July 5 he
was taken to New England Baptist Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts for surgery.

Dr. Bentley P. Colcock removed about 3.1 cm of thyroid tissue which contained
multiple nodules varying in size up to 1 cm in diameter. They varied from pale
grey and firm to pulpy and semicystic and deep red. The pathologic diagnosis
was adenomatous goiter. His recovery was rapid and uneventful. He was returned
to Brookhaven on July 13 where he remained asymptomatic and was discharged on
July 18, 1965, fit to travel back to the Marshall Islands.
Diagnosis:

Adenomatous goiter.

Discharge Medication:
No immediate drug therapy was recommended. However, this
patient will receive desiccated thyroid, 180 mg daily beginning in September,
along with the remainder of the exposed Rongelap people.

Ot

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