Dr Mark Kennedy
Western Hills Clinic
74 Western Hills Drive
Kensington
Whangarei 0112
www.healthpoint.co.nz
Dr Mark Kennedy - Private Internal Medicine Specialist
Postal Address
Contact Details
Phone (09) 435 4627, or if URGENT, Linda Clinical Nurse Specialist 021 689 447 outside of clinic hours
Mobile Emergency Phone (021) 702 395
Email admin@westernhillsclinic.co.nz
Healthlink EDI: west74hc
For any urgent Echocardiogram, Exercise Stress Echocardiogram or Exercise Tolerance Test, contact Clinical Nurse Specialist (Linda) on (09) 435 4627 on Tuesday and Thursday (or 021 689 447 outside those days). If she is unavailable and it is URGENT, call Mark Kennedy on (021) 702 395. We can undertake Transthoracic Echocardiograms most weekdays.
Thyroid Disorders
Patient information:
The thyroid is a gland that sits in the front, and towards the bottom, of your neck.
It is responsible for producing a hormone called thyroxine.Thyroxine has an important role in the body as it affects many organs including the heart, muscles and bones.
Diseases that affect the thyroid can make it either overactive (producing too much thyroxine), underactive (not producing enough thyroxine) or enlarged (goitre).
Tests
Thyroid problems are usually picked up with a blood test but there are other tests you may have to work out why the problem has occurred. These include:
- an ultrasound scan. This is where a hand-held scanner head is passed over your thyroid gland and pictures are taken
- a nuclear medicine scan. This is where you are given something to drink that contains a substance that only goes to the thyroid gland. Although it is radioactive it does not damage you or anyone else. Pictures are then taken of the thyroid gland that give the doctor information about what might be causing the problem
- fine needle aspirate (FNA). This is where a surgeon puts a very fine needle (smaller than for a blood test) into the thyroid gland to take some cells to look at under the microscope.
https://www.healthpoint.co.nz/private/internal-medicine/dr-mark-kennedy-private-internal-medicine/