Talk of getting thyroid surgery often can put a lump in your throat that’s a little difficult to swallow as you try to understand what your doctor is saying. It is important to realise that surgery may be necessary even if there is no malignancy involved. There are several reasons why thyroid surgery may be required and these include:
- Nodule biopsy results indicate cancer (papillary cancer).
- Nodule biopsy indicates possible cancer (follicular neoplasm).
- Nodule is benign but is large, growing larger, or causing symptoms.
- Treatment of hyperthyroidism.
- For large goitres or goitres causing symptoms.
There may be no other option except thyroid surgery if there is a diagnosis of cancer or possible cancer. Other than these, however, it is possible that the other conditions may have non-surgical alternatives. It would be good to discuss these possibilities with your doctor.
Types of Thyroid Surgery
The basic thyroid surgery operations involve a biopsy, lobectomy, subtotal or near-total thyroidectomy, and total thyroidectomy. In a biopsy (also called lumpectomy), a small portion of the thyroid is removed. A lobectomy removes one-half of the thyroid gland.
Thyroidectomy comes in three degrees. Subtotal thyroidectomy removes nearly the whole thyroid, but leaves small parts on each side; in contrast, near-total thyroidectomy will leave a small part (1 gram or 1 cm) on only one side. Total thyroidectomy takes out all thyroid tissues.
You will want to ask the physician which type of thyroid surgery will be performed. In cases of papillary or follicular cancer, most surgeons will go for total or, at the very least, near-total thyroidectomy. This will probably require post-surgery treatment with radioactive iodine.
Patients suffering from Graves’ disease generally are advised to undergo total thyroid lobectomy on the side where the largest nodules are found, plus some resection on the other lobe. But for patients with nodules on only one lobe, an ordinary lobectomy will suffice.
Risks of Thyroid Surgery
Like any invasive procedure, there are risks attendant to thyroid surgery, and the most serious among them involve:
- Bleeding in your throat that may interfere with breathing.
- Permanent hoarseness resulting from injury to the laryngeal nerve.
- Injury to the parathyroid glands responsible for regulating calcium levels.
The chances for these complications are directly related to the difficulties involved, for example, in situations where the goitres are so large that they extend below the collarbone, or where many lymph nodes have been affected by the nodules or goitres. These also depend greatly on the experience of the surgeon.
Before you proceed with the operation, make sure that your surgeon informs you fully about why the operation is needed, the alternative (especially non-surgical) treatment methods, the potential risks, and the benefits you can expect from the thyroid surgery.
Comments are closed.