Goiter surgery

[Guest guest]

Thyroid cancer is not possible once the thyroid is removed.(goiter). I had

a friend years ago who had it done and felt way so much better after!!!

Thyroid surgery is frequently used to treat thyroid cancer, and is sometimes

the preferred approach to dealing with goiter, nodules, or an overactive

thyroid.

Here are comprehensive resources regarding thyroid surgery -- known as

thyroidectomy -- including reasons for thyroid surgery, choosing a surgeon,

types of thyroid surgery, anesthesia for thyroid surgery, endoscopic

surgery, minimally invasive. Joanne

http://thyroid.about.com/od/thyroiddrugstreatments/a/thyroidsurgery.htm

Reasons for Thyroid Surgery

Thyroid surgery is performed in a number of circumstances:

a.. as a treatment for thyroid cancer

b.. when an enlarged thyroid (goiter) or multiple nodules cause cosmetic,

breathing or swallowing problems

c.. in a pregnant woman, when her hyperthyroidism is not controllable by

antithyroid drugs, and requires immediate treatment

d.. when other forms of treatment for hyperthyroidism -- i.e,. antithyroid

drugs or radioactive iodine have not been effective. (This is applicable in

the U.S. Outside the U.S., surgery is sometimes performed as a

hyperthyroidism treatment before or instead of radioactive iodine.)

e.. in children, if the practitioner or parent wishes to avoid radioactive

iodine

f.. when the patient refuses antithyroid medications or radioactive iodine

g.. when a patient wants to try to get pregnant quickly after treatment

Types of Thyroid Surgery

There are three main types of thyroid surgery:

a.. Total Thyroidectomy -- Complete Removal of the Thyroid

This is the most common type of thyroid surgery, and is often used for

thyroid cancer, and in particular, aggressive cancers, such as medullary or

anaplastic thyroid cancer. It is also used for goiter and

Graves'/hyperthyroidism treatment.

b.. Subtotal/Partial Thyroidectomy -- Removal of Half of the Thyroid

Gland

For this operation, cancer must be small and non-aggressive --

follicular or papillary -- and contained to one side of the gland. When a

subtotal or partial thyroidectomy is performed, typically, surgeons perform

a bilateral subtotal thyroidectomy which leaves from 1 to 5 grams on each

side/lobe of the thyroid. A Harley Dunhill procedure is also popular, in

which there's a total lobectomy on one side, and a subtotal on the other,

leaving 4 to 5 grams of thyroid tissue remaining.

c.. Thyroid Lobectomy -- Removal of Only About a Quarter of the Gland

This is less commonly used for thyroid cancer, as the cancerous cells

must be small and non-aggressive.

The issue of a subtotal/partial, vs. total thyroidectomy is controversial.

Some practitioners prefer to perform a partial thyroidectomy whenever

possible, believing that they will leave behind enough thyroid tissue to

prevent hypothyroidism. (A total thyroidectomy has nearly a 100 percent

chance of causing hypothyroidism). The risk of hypothyroidism with subtotal

thyroidectomy is, however, quite high, and some experts say that more than

70 percent of patients receiving a subtotal thyroidectomy will become

hypothyroid. Since one of the main reasons for subtotal thyroidectomy is to

prevent hypothyroidism, and that goal is achieved in only a minority of

cases, experts increasingly believe that there is no added benefit to

subtotal thyroidectomy, and are more routinely recommending a total

thyroidectomy.

What You Are Likely to Experience

In most cases, surgery of the thyroid is not highly complicated, and

usually takes no more than two hours.

Removal of half of the thyroid takes 45 minutes to an hour, so if the

entire gland is being removed, the surgery will last about an hour and a

half.

Check with your surgeon about medications you are taking, and what you

should/shouldn't take in the days prior to surgery.

You will most likely be asked to check into the hospital the morning of

your surgery. Typically, your surgeon will ask that you refrain from eating

or drinking after midnight the night before surgery.

Outpatient or Hospital Admission?

Depending on the condition of the patient, an overnight or two-night

hospital stay may be planned. Outpatient thyroid surgery is becoming

increasingly popular, however, and research shows that outpatient thyroid

surgery is safe, effective -- and less expensive -- for most patients, and

may be preferable to traditional inpatient hospital stays.

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