Thyroid surgery is usually indicated when your doctor has found a mass in your thyroid gland and it has been determined that this mass has a high risk for being malignant. An office procedure called a fine needle aspiration will be performed pre-operatively to get pathologic information about the thyroid mass. Blood tests to determine how the thyroid gland is functioning will be drawn. Most thyroid masses are benign but some are potentially serious therefore all thyroid masses should be evaluated by your doctor.

 

Post-Operative Instructions For Thyroid Surgery

 

For certain thyroid cancers your doctor may recommend referral to a radiation oncologist for post-operative radioactive iodine treatments. Depending on how much functioning thyroid tissue remains after surgery, your doctor may prescribe thyroid hormone replacement medication. You will stay at least one post-operative night in the hospital. You will have a small plastic tube coming out of the lower neck which his attached to a bulb suction device. The doctor will remove the drain 1 to 3 days following surgery. If you go home prior to drain removal, you will be shown how to care for it

 

Occasionally patients experience a temporary lowering of their blood calcium called hypocalcaemia after thyroid surgery. If this happens your doctor will prescribe calcium replacement medication. Rarely, this low blood calcium can be permanent and calcium replacement is required lifelong. Most patients experience some temporary hypocalcaemia if a total thyroid gland removal is performed, but only few require calcium replacement therapy.

Thyroid surgery