Thyroid Surgery (Thyroidectomy)

Sometimes a relative is the first to notice that your neck looks fuller. For others it's a collar that no longer buttons, a feeling of something stuck when swallowing, or a nodule found by chance on an ultrasound done for something else. Thyroid swellings are common, especially in women, and most are harmless. Some, though, grow large enough to press on the windpipe or food pipe, make too much hormone, or need removing because a needle test can't rule out cancer.

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland at the front of the neck that makes the hormones controlling your metabolism. In thyroid surgery (thyroidectomy), the surgeon removes one half of the gland (hemithyroidectomy) or all of it (total thyroidectomy) through a cut of about 4 to 6 cm in a natural skin crease low in the neck. Two things get special care during the operation: the nerves to the voice box, which run right behind the gland, and the tiny parathyroid glands, usually four, that control calcium in the blood.

Most people go home within a day or two with a normal voice and a thin scar that fades over a year. After total thyroidectomy you take a thyroid hormone tablet every day for life. Most people feel well once the dose is right, though finding it can take a few blood tests.

Thyroid surgery is among the operations our general surgery department performs regularly. Thyroid blood tests, neck ultrasound and needle biopsy are done by our diagnostic team, and our physicians manage thyroid levels before and after surgery. If the lab report on the removed gland shows cancer, the surgical team coordinates your next steps with cancer specialists.

The reason for surgery decides how much of the gland is removed. Your surgeon plans it after thyroid blood tests, an ultrasound and usually a needle test (FNAC) of any nodule.