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Dr. Mei-Chen Yeh
Attending Physician, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan
Dr. Mei-Chen Yeh has focused on thyroid nodule assessment and minimally invasive ablation for many years, accumulating over 300 thyroid ablation cases at Chi Mei Medical Center, across radiofrequency (RFA), microwave (MWA) and ethanol (PEI) techniques.
Treating a thyroid nodule is rarely just a matter of dealing with the nodule. It is a sequence of judgements: is this nodule benign? Is it genuinely causing symptoms? Does it need treatment at all? Is it suitable for ablation? Should it be operated on instead? And how should it be followed afterwards?
Thyroid ablation, in other words, is not a single technique but a complete pathway — diagnosis, risk stratification, choice of treatment and long-term surveillance. Getting the question right comes before getting the procedure right.
At Chi Mei Medical Center in Tainan, patients in southern Taiwan have access to techniques in line with international practice without travelling to the capital. Patients from elsewhere in Taiwan and from overseas are equally welcome.
Current position
- Attending Physician, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Chi Mei Medical Center
Clinical focus
- Thyroid nodule assessment and diagnostic ultrasound
- Thyroid radiofrequency ablation (RFA)
- Thyroid microwave ablation (MWA)
- Percutaneous ethanol injection for thyroid cysts (PEI)
- Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC)
- Thyroid dysfunction: hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, autoimmune thyroid disease
- Diabetes, osteoporosis and endocrine-metabolic disorders
Publications and guidelines
- Yeh MC, Su CJ. Clinical application of minimally invasive radiofrequency ablation for benign thyroid nodules. Journal of Internal Medicine of Taiwan 2023;34(4):300–303. DOI: 10.6314/JIMT.202308_34(4).05
- Contributing author, Taiwan thyroid ablation treatment guideline monograph
- Contributions on ethanol ablation for thyroid cysts in the Journal of Internal Medicine of Taiwan
Clinical philosophy
"The ultimate goal of treatment is that the body recovers — and that the patient needs the doctor less and less."
Among the most rewarding moments in clinic are the patients with toxic thyroid nodules who, after ablation, come off long-term antithyroid medication entirely and return only for occasional surveillance.
Why operator experience matters
The safety of thyroid ablation depends heavily on execution. The treatment field sits immediately adjacent to the trachea, oesophagus, carotid artery and recurrent laryngeal nerve; sound real-time ultrasound judgement is built on case volume.
Just as important is deciding whether a given nodule should be ablated at all. If the indication is wrong — if a malignant lesion is treated as a benign nodule — no amount of technical skill compensates. That is why pre-procedure cytological confirmation, ultrasound risk stratification and full thyroid function assessment are never omitted.
Last updated: 9 August 2026 | Reviewed by Dr. Mei-Chen Yeh, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Chi Mei Medical Center