Thyroid surgery

The intricacies of Thyroid Surgery

Thyroid surgery may be recommended for patients who suffer different kinds of thyroid problems, whether cancerous or not. It may be advised for instance, for those whose gland becomes so enlarged as to severely hamper breathing and swallowing. If you have been recommended for thyroid surgery, you should know every detail of what happens before and after the operation.

Thyroid surgery – what you should know beforehand

Be sure that you are clear as to why you need surgery. Do you have thyroid nodules? Have you been diagnosed with thyroid gland cancer? Is it that you cannot breathe because you have a goiter? Do you have hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism?

The decision to have surgery can be a challenging one. Keep in mind, though, that surgery is recommended for only the most life-threatening cases. However, if your condition is benign, you should find out whether there are other viable options for treatment before you agree to thyroid surgery.

Before your thyroid surgery, you should get a preoperative evaluation that includes your family health history, your own past health status as well as how your body is working currently.

When choosing a surgeon, look for a surgeon that has specialized in thyroid surgery and who had earned a good reputation for successful operations and performs thyroid surgeries as a matter of routine.

To be honest, surgery is not a walk in the park for every candidate. There can be complications like uncontrollable bleeding that if not caught in time, can cause drowning; permanent hoarseness of voice resulting from damage during surgery to the laryngeal nerve; and hypoparathyroidism caused by damage to the parathyroid gland. However, these risks, with a skilled surgeon, are under two percent.

Does your entire thyroid need to be removed, or is a reduction in the size of the thyroid to control hyperthyroidism. Get the facts correct. What is the extent of the thyroid surgery?

Once the surgery is confirmed and scheduled, you will be advised that you should abstain from eating or drinking for about 12 hours prior to the procedure. You will meet the anesthesiologist, who administers the sedatives for the thyroid surgery. You can expect to spend between two and three hours in the operation room. After the procedure, you will be wheeled in the recovery room.

Thyroid surgery recovery

Your throat will be sore in reaction to the tube placed there during surgery so you could breathe. There may be a drain in place in an incision in your neck to keep the site dry. This drain would normally be removed the day following the thyroid surgery, which is the day that you are discharged from the hospital. When you are fully awake, you will be taken to your hospital bed, where you can resume normal eating and drinking. Immediately following your release, you can take part in your normal daily routine.

In the longer term, you are not at all hampered by the surgery. If you develop hypothyroidism as a result, you may be treated with thyroid hormones.

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external links
wikipedia: thyroid surgery