Thyroidectomy
Finding out you need thyroid surgery can be stressful and even scary. The surgery may be recommended because you have thyroid cancer, or it may be done to treat hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid), an enlarged thyroid (goiter), or thyroid nodules.
Partial or total removal of the thyroid gland is known as a thyroidectomy. If one of the two lobes of the butterfly-shaped gland is taken out, it’s called a partial or hemi-thyroidectomy. If the entire organ is taken out, it’s a total thyroidectomy.
Thyroid Surgery Fears
Here we lay out some of the possible side effects of thyroid surgery that you may be concerned about, and put each in perspective so you will know what to expect. The first four effects are more common; the last four are rarer.
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My Voice Will Change
It’s not uncommon to experience hoarseness or for your voice to be weak or have a whispery quality after thyroid surgery. These effects are usually temporary, Most commonly, voice changes are related to swelling from placement of the breathing tube (intubation), and this should improve within a few days after surgery.
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I’ll Gain Weight
If you have a thyroidectomy, your body no longer produces enough (or any) thyroid hormones, which in essence causes you to develop hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid. A common symptom of hypothyroidism is weight gain.
Postoperative weight gain is especially likely if you had a thyroidectomy to treat hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid.
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I’ll Have Difficulty Swallowing
Temporary dysphasia, or difficulty swallowing, is common after thyroid surgery, affecting up to 20% of people who have part or all of their thyroid removed.
You may feel like food isn’t going down the way it used to, food gets stuck in your throat, or you choke or gag when you swallow. As with voice changes, “difficulty swallowing is most commonly related to swelling from the placement of the breathing tube (intubation) during surgery,” says Dr’s. It usually improves within a few days after the procedure.
In some cases, however, swallowing difficulty can persist for months or longer; this could indicate nerve damage from the surgery and often requires treatment.
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My Calcium Levels Will Drop
Adjacent to your thyroid gland are four small but vital glands called the parathyroids, which produce a hormone (parathyroid hormone, or PTH) that regulates calcium levels in the blood. After a thyroidectomy, some people experience symptoms of low calcium such as burning, tingling, or numbness in their hands, feet, or around the mouth. According to Doctors, this can be due to an interruption in the blood supply to the parathyroid glands or the inadvertent removal of the parathyroids during surgery.
People who undergo thyroidectomy to treat an autoimmune thyroid disorder, such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis or Graves’ disease, are at heightened risk of this side effect, as are those with extensive and advanced thyroid cancer, says Doctors.
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l will Have an Unattractive Scar
The location of your scar and its appearance depend not only on the particular technique your surgeon used but also how your body heals.
“In general, thyroidectomy scars heal very well when placed in a natural skin crease,” doctors says, and most surgeons experienced with thyroidectomies are adept at minimizing the chances of unsightly scarring. Still, some people heal with scars that become thick, raised, or dimpled.
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My Trachea (Windpipe) Will Be Damaged
The trachea, or windpipe, is the cartilaginous tube that connects your larynx, or voice box, with the large airways leading to your lungs. When you inhale, oxygen travels down the trachea. This structure could be accidentally perforated or otherwise damaged during a thyroidectomy, though this happens “very rarely—less than 1% of the time,” doctors says.
Those at risk of trachea damage include individuals who had a significantly enlarged thyroid (goiter) or who had surgery for a complex cancer and Tracheal damage needs to be repaired surgically.
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I’ll Experience Dangerous Bruising
Very rarely, blood may pool in the tissues of the neck after thyroid surgery. This bruising, or hematoma, can be painful and is usually accompanied by black-and-blue skin discoloration, swelling, and hardness under the incision or on the side of your neck. Though this side effect is uncommon, occurring in 0.3% of cases, it can be dangerous if it progresses, leading to difficulty breathing or even life-threatening pressure on your airway.
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My Face Will Look Different
There have been rare reports of individuals experiencing a problem on one side of their face following thyroid surgery, specifically a droopy upper eyelid (ptosis), a pupil that doesn’t dilate (widen) as well as the other eye’s pupil, or the absence of sweating on that side of the face. This is known as Horner’s syndrome (or Oculosympathetic Palsy) and is caused by damage to the sympathetic nerves that run behind the thyroid gland. The risk of this occurring is very low: 0.2%, or about two out of every thousand people.
The good news is that thyroidectomies are quite common. each year—and the procedure is relatively safe. Still, as with any surgery, there can be complications.
Safe thyroid surgery by a thyroid surgeon
Thyroidectomy, like any other surgery, may have complications. But the most important thing is that if this surgery is performed by an expert, skilled and experienced surgeon, its side effects will be minimized.
References
https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/hyperthyroidism/surgery-hyperthyroidism/should-i-be-scared-of-thyroid-surgery
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/thyroidectomy/about/pac-20385195#:~:text=Thyroidectomy%20is%20generally%20a%20safe,Bleeding.
