Throat Treatments

What is a Thyroidectomy?

Thyroidectomy is a surgical procedure used to remove part or all of the thyroid gland, located in the neck. This procedure is performed for various reasons, including thyroid cancer, large goiters causing compression symptoms, hyperthyroidism not controlled by medication, or suspicious nodules that require further evaluation.

Before the surgery, the patient undergoes preoperative evaluation, including thyroid function tests, imaging studies, and possibly fine-needle aspiration biopsy for nodules.

During the procedure, the surgeon makes an incision in the neck and carefully identifies and preserves nearby structures such as the parathyroid glands and recurrent laryngeal nerves. Depending on the reason for surgery, either a portion of the thyroid (lobectomy or subtotal thyroidectomy) or the entire gland (total thyroidectomy) may be removed.

After thyroidectomy, patients may need to take thyroid hormone replacement medication to maintain normal thyroid function if the entire gland is removed. Complications from thyroidectomy can include damage to surrounding structures, hypothyroidism, temporary or permanent changes in voice or swallowing, bleeding, infection, or rarely, injury to the parathyroid glands leading to calcium imbalances.