Thyroidectomy

Surgery Group LA
What to Expect After Thyroid Surgery

It’s important to know prior to your thyroid surgery what to expect after your operation. That way the process won’t be nearly as surprising or concerning to you. It can also be a great barometer for how your post-operative recovery is going and when it might be time to consult your medical professional for questions and concerns. The team at Surgery Group of LA has created this handy guide about what to expect after your thyroid surgery.

Immediately After

It is fairly common for patients immediately after thyroid surgery to suffer from a temporary sore throat, difficulty swallowing, and a weak voice. These symptoms are normal and almost always temporary. Your doctor will often prescribe a limited diet the day of surgery, but you should be able to follow your normal diet the very next day. 

Getting Back to Normal

Most patients will be able to return to their normal daily activities in a few days and to work in about a week. Activities like weight lifting or strenuous work should be avoided however for at least two weeks. 

Pain from the incision point usually goes away after a few days, but should not be too dramatic and can be treated with an OTC pain medication like Tylenol or aspirin. If you have been prescribed Percocet at your discharge, do not take OTC medications with acetaminophen like Tylenol. Only use pain medication as prescribed by your doctor to avoid complications.

New Supplements

After surgery, you will need to incorporate supplementation daily as part of your new routine. These will include:

  • Thyroid Hormone – usually in the form of a Synthroid (levothyroxine is its generic name) every day on an empty stomach usually in the morning. Do not eat 30 minutes after taking thyroid hormone
  • Calcium – Typically after surgery your calcium levels will be depleted and need to be replaced though is usually temporary. Usually in the form of calcium carbonate pills 1-3 times a day at your doctor’s discretion. Be sure to follow your doctor’s instructions carefully to avoid side effects or complications.


When to call your doctor

If you are experiencing any of these severe side effects, contact your doctor as soon as you can:

  • Fever over 101.5
  • Prolonged difficulty swallowing
  • Muscle cramps
  • Increased pain, swelling, or tenderness  in your incision point (Crucial)

While thyroid surgery complications may occur, recovery from thyroid surgery is often quick and easy. However, consult your medical professional if you have any questions or concerns before or after your surgery.

November 12, 2021

Surgery Group LA
Pros and Cons Of Minimally Invasive Thyroid Surgery

For patients who suffer from thyroid nodules, thyroid cancer, hyperthyroidism, and thyroid goiters, minimally invasive thyroid surgery can be a crucial option in treating their condition. Normal thyroid surgery also has a low complication rate and is quite effective and treating thyroid-related diseases. However, there are complicating factors that may make minimally invasive surgery a better option.

The word surgery however can cause anxiety even for the most well-informed patients, so we here at the Surgery Group of LA have formulated this handy information sheet on the advantages and disadvantages of minimally invasive thyroid surgery that you can discuss with your doctor prior to any decisions about an operation.

Advantages

While the incision length can vary, open or normal thyroid surgeries can require incisions anywhere from 3.5 cm (for parathyroidectomy) to 5.5 cm (for total thyroidectomy). While any surgeon will do their absolute best to minimize the incision point in any surgery, minimally invasive thyroid surgical techniques can dramatically shorten the length of the incision required for surgery. While all of these measurements are estimates, a video-assisted thyroidectomy might only require an incision of about 2 cm in length. This means a shorter recovery time and a less noticeable scar for the patient.

In general, the recovery time associated with minimally invasive surgery techniques are far lower than their open surgery counterparts. The recovery time for an open thyroidectomy can be 2-3 weeks and may require an overnight hospital stay for observation and treatment. Minimally invasive surgery has recovery times in as little as 10 days and patients can often be sent home the same day as their operation.

Disadvantages

The main limitation of minimally invasive thyroid surgical techniques is that unfortunately not all patients can be treated using minimally invasive techniques. Generally, only patients with small thyroid glands, who do not suffer from thyroiditis, and have not had previous neck surgery or radiation treatments are eligible. 

Minimally invasive thyroid surgery is also more technically complicated and demanding, and the actual operation time is much longer than its open surgery counterparts. Because minimally invasive surgery is new and not the most common procedure, your surgeon might not be as familiar with minimally invasive techniques as they are with open surgical techniques.

Conclusion

Minimally invasive thyroid surgical techniques can be a great way to limit post-operative pain and scarring associated with thyroid surgery. However, it is not for everyone and must be discussed clearly with your surgeon before being considered an option.

November 12, 2021

Surgery Group LA
Hyperthyroidism: Diagnosis and Treatment

Hyperthyroidism: Diagnosis and Treatment

Hyperthyroidism is one of the most common issues involving the thyroid. Nearly 1 out of every 100 Americans suffer from hyperthyroidism. People who also have a family history of thyroid diseases, suffer from type 1 or type 2 diabetes, and are pregnant have an increased risk of hyperthyroidism.

Common symptoms of hyperthyroidism include: 

  • Weight loss despite an increase in appetite
  • Rapid or irregular heart rate
  • Twitchiness, fatigue, irritability, nervous sweat
  • Muscle weakness and shaky hands

The good news is that hyperthyroidism 

Diagnosis 

Hyperthyroidism is usually diagnosed through a combination of a physical examination and blood testing. 

After checking your neck for signs of any growth around the thyroid gland, your doctor may draw a blood sample. Then they will test your blood for signs of either high levels of thyroxine, or low to nonexistent levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone or TSH.

Alert your doctor if you are taking medication or supplements with biotin as these might throw off the results of these tests.

If your tests come out positive for hyperthyroidism your doctor will perform one of the following tests to ascertain the source of your hyperthyroidism:

  • Radioiodine Uptake Test  – In this test, your doctor will ask you to ingest a small amount of radioactive iodine to see how much will collect into your thyroid gland after 4, 6, and  24 hours. If your thyroid retains a large amount of radioiodine, this might be a sign of hyperfunctioning thyroid gland. The most common cause of this is Graves Disease, an autoimmune disorder of the thyroid gland. If you suffer from hyperthyroidism but your radioiodine retention levels are low, you may suffer from thyroiditis.
  • Thyroid Scan – Your doctor may choose to have iodine injected into your bloodstream. Your thyroid gland will be analyzed using a special computer scan in order to see how your thyroid absorbs iodine.
  • Thyroid Ultrasound – Using soundwave imaging, your doctor will be able to see growths and irregularities in the thyroid gland without requiring you to ingest iodine

Treatment

The good news is that there a variety of treatments for hyperthyroidism based on the age, health, and condition of the patient, as well as the cause of your condition. These treatments include:

  • Radioactive Iodine – Ingested through the mouth, a patient can take radioactive iodine which is then absorbed by the thyroid gland causing it to shrink. Symptoms include nausea, tenderness of the neck,  swollen salivary glands, and loss of taste, but these symptoms subside in a few months. However, there is a chance that  Radioactive Iodine might cause hypothyroidism which might lead to a patient needing to take thyroxine supplements in the future.
  • Anti Thyroid Medication – Medications such as  Methimazole ( Tapozole) or propylithiouracil. Medication usually leads to symptom relief in a few weeks but may take up to a year or longer before treatment is complete. Both drugs have been linked to severe liver damage, while Methazole has been deemed far safer than propylithiouracil. 
  • Surgery ( Thyroidectomy) – If you are pregnant or would prefer to avoid or can’t take antithyroid medication or radioactive iodine, you may be a candidate for surgical treatment. Surgical treatments involving hyperthyroidism usually involve removing the thyroid and supplementing your thyroid hormone levels using medication such as levothyroxine. If your parathyroid glands also need to be removed, you will also need medication to regulate your calcium levels as well.

While Hyperthyroidism can be painful and feel like a lifelong ailment, there is a treatment for you. So if you or a loved one is suffering from symptoms of Hyperthyroidism, consult a medical professional today.

October 31, 2021

Surgery Group LA
Thyroid Cancer: Diagnosis and Treatment

Thyroid Cancer: Diagnosis and Treatment

There are approximately 44,000 new cases of Thyroid Cancer every year. The good news is that this increase in diagnosis stems from new and advanced detection techniques. Tests like CT and MRI scans have been developed and refined, allowing for detection at earlier stages of cancer.

With proper diagnosis and treatment, most thyroid cancer can be cured. Please consult this guide if you are a loved one who believes that you might have thyroid cancer.

Early Symptoms of Thyroid Cancer

The most common symptom of Thyroid Cancer is an enlargement or swelling of the thyroid glands in your neck. Other symptoms include:

  • Increased hoarseness of the voice that does not heal
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Pain in the neck and throat

Diagnosis

After performing a routine physical your doctor might perform these exams in order to ascertain if you have thyroid cancer:

  • Physical Examination – Your doctor will feel your neck for any signs of growth inside the thyroid glands around your neck. They also will ask about potential risk factors, such as your family’s history with Thyroid cancer and other cancers.
  • Blood test – A blood test might be prescribed in order to test whether your hormone levels are normal, a sign of a healthy thyroid
  • Ultrasound Imaging – Ultrasound uses sound waves to construct an in-depth image of your body structure. Ultrasounds can be a crucial test in deciphering whether a thyroid growth is benign or malignant and needs surgical treatment
  • Biopsy of suspect tissue – Using an Ultrasound as a guide, your doctor may remove a small part of the tissue in question through a procedure called a fine-needle aspiration biopsy. The sample then can be tested for cancerous cells.

Treatment

If your thyroid cancer is very small and has a low risk of spreading, your doctor may advise against treatment, preferring to keep cancer under active surveillance, usually through a blood and ultrasound test once or twice a year. These growths may never grow past this stage and may never require treatment.

However, most people diagnosed with thyroid cancer will require treatment at some point. Common non-surgical treatments include Thyroid Hormone Therapy, Chemotherapy, or Radiotive treatments, however, most thyroid cancer patients opt for surgical treatments. These treatments include:

  • Partial Removal of the thyroid (Thyroid Lobectomy) – Can be performed as an alternative to complete removal of the thyroid. A lobectomy is performed if the cancerous growth is small and has low signs of spreading. One advantage of this treatment is that the patient might not have to rely on thyroid hormone pills after treatment
  • Near Complete or Complete removal of the thyroid (Thyroidectomy) – The most common form of surgical treatment for thyroid cancer, a surgeon will remove most if not all the thyroid gland in order to decrease the chance of new growths forming. While this treatment will leave a scar around the neck, the scar will grow less noticeable over time. Patients who go through a thyroidectomy will need to take thyroid hormone pills daily
  • Removal of the lymph nodes around the neck (Lymph node dissection) – If cancer has spread through the thyroid into the lymph nodes, these nodes will often be removed during the same procedure as the thyroid removal surgery.

Common side effects of surgery include:

  • Temporary or permanent hoarseness of voice
  • Infection
  • Hematoma – forms of blood clots around the neck
  • Damage to the parathyroid glands could lead to irregulated calcium levels which can cause muscle spasms

Every form of treatment should be heavily discussed with your medical team before proceeding, but if you or a loved one is suffering from thyroid cancer, there is hope for treatment and a cure.

October 31, 2021

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Surgery Group of LA is a multi-specialty surgical practice based in Los Angeles, dedicated to providing expert, compassionate care across a wide range of specialties including colorectal, thyroid, general, and minimally invasive surgery. Our board-certified surgeons are committed to delivering personalized treatment using the latest technology and techniques.

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310-861-7493

8635 W 3rd St Suite 880 W,
Los Angeles, CA 90048
[email protected]

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