Surgery For Thyroid - All That You Need To Know About It!

In rare instances, surgery is done for treating hyperthyroidism. It may be done in case the thyroid glands have become so big that it is interrupting with the breathing process or the affected individual is not able to breathe. Surgery is also done in case you are pregnant, and you are not able to tolerate the necessary thyroid medications. As a complication of the surgery, hypothyroidism may occur, but this is treatable.

The reason for the thyroid surgery mainly determines which type of operation will be suitable for you. For instance, total thyroidectomy is performed when the surgeon finds it crucial to remove the entire gland. Thyroid lobectomy is done when the thyroid nodules are present in a single lobe only while subtotal thyroidectomy is done when Grave's disease is responsible for causing hyperthyroidism. Your doctor will advise on the right surgical option based on your condition.

Thyroid surgery is generally considered safe, but like all other surgeries, it can lead to various complications. These include hoarseness of voice since the nerves responsible for controlling the voice may be affected during the surgery. On the other hand, in case the parathyroid glands have been damaged or removed mistakenly, then it may cause hypoparathyroidism. An experienced surgeon will ensure certain precautions are taken to avoid such complications.

If the issue is that you have thyroid nodules, then you should undergo thyroid ultrasound along with a fine-needle aspiration. On the other hand, if you have lesions that lead to suspicion of medullary thyroid cancer should, the doctor would consider doing an ultrasound in the lateral neck compartments. CT imaging in the neck is also recommended particularly in the patients who have goiters. Moreover, the functions of the vocal cord are required to be evaluated before undergoing surgery. You should follow all the instructions of your surgeon to steer clear from the risks of thyroid surgery.