What Is a Thyroidectomy?
Updated on October 9, 2024
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Thyroidectomy is a common surgical procedure to remove all or part of your thyroid gland. Thyroidectomy may be done to treat conditions like thyroid cancer, thyroid nodules, an enlarged thyroid gland, or an overactive thyroid.
Overview
What Is Thyroidectomy?
In a thyroidectomy, surgeons remove all or part of the thyroid gland. Your thyroid gland is a small, butterfly-shaped organ that’s located in the front of your neck. Its main role is to control the speed of your metabolism by releasing thyroid hormones.
Your thyroid consists of:
- Two halves, which are called lobes.
- A middle portion, which is called the thyroid isthmus.
Types of Thyroidectomy
Thyroidectomy can either be total or partial depending on the reason for the procedure.
- With a total thyroidectomy, surgeons remove all or nearly all of the thyroid tissue.
- Partial thyroidectomies require only a portion of the thyroid to be removed.
Additionally, there are different techniques that surgeons use to access your thyroid, including:
- Conventional Thyroidectomy The standard and most common approach is through an incision in the center of your neck.
- Endoscopic Smaller incisions are made in the neck. A surgeon uses special instruments and a video camera to carry out the procedure.
- Robotic The surgeon uses the assistance of a robot to perform the thyroidectomy while viewing the area with a 3D camera. The surgery is done through an incision in your armpit.
- Transoral The thyroid gland is accessed via an incision inside your mouth. This newer method does not leave a visible scar.
The type of thyroidectomy you need will depend on your medical condition.
Why Is Thyroidectomy Done?
Your doctor may recommend thyroidectomy if you have:
- Thyroid cancer
- A thyroid nodule or cyst: These are usually noncancerous.
- A goiter (enlarged thyroid gland): If goiters grow too large, they can make it difficult to swallow and breathe.
- Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid): Your thyroid makes and releases more hormones than is necessary.
How Is Thyroidectomy Performed?
Most thyroidectomies are done in a hospital under general anesthesia. This means you will be asleep while doctors operate. The procedure may be performed by a general surgeon, a head and neck surgeon, an endocrine surgeon, or a surgical oncologist.
With a standard thyroidectomy, surgeons will remove all or part of your thyroid gland via the incision in your neck. If you’re having an endoscopic or robotic procedure, the doctor will use special instruments and a video camera to perform the procedure with tiny incisions. With a transoral thyroidectomy, surgeons remove thyroid tissue through your mouth.
A catheter may be placed in the area to help drain blood and fluid.
Lastly, the surgeon will close the incisions with stitches.
How Do I Prepare for Thyroidectomy?
Before your thyroidectomy, you might have to undergo certain tests. For example, your doctor may recommend imaging tests or a biopsy, so they can see where any growths are located and determine if they are cancerous.
Tell your doctor about all the medicines, vitamins, herbs, and supplements you use before your surgery. You might need to stop taking certain drugs, such as Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate), aspirin, Advil (ibuprofen), Aleve (naproxen), or Coumadin (warfarin), prior to your procedure, because they can cause excessive bleeding or bruising.
Smoking may slow down your recovery. Let your doctor know if you smoke.
Your doctor may prescribe a thyroid medicine or iodine treatment for you to take one to two weeks before your thyroidectomy to reduce both thyroid hormone release and thyroid gland vascularity.
You'll probably be told not to eat or drink anything for several hours before your thyroidectomy. Follow your doctor's instructions carefully.
What Should I Expect During Thyroidectomy?
You’ll be asleep during the procedure, so you shouldn’t feel any pain or discomfort. Your medical team will carefully monitor your vital signs.
A total thyroidectomy usually takes two to three hours. Your surgery may take less time if only part of the thyroid is removed. Thyroid cancer patients may also need to undergo a lymph node dissection, which can increase the duration of surgery and the risk of complications.
What Are the Potential Risks Associated With Thyroidectomy?
Some potential risks of thyroidectomy include:
- Reactions to anesthesia or other medicines used
- Breathing problems
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Blood clots
- Damage to the nerve that controls the voice box, leading to either hoarseness or breathing issues
- Injury to parathyroid glands (small glands near the thyroid) that control calcium balance in the body
- An airway blockage that makes it hard to breathe
- An abrupt rise in thyroid hormone levels
- Excessive release of thyroid hormone from the thyroid gland
What Type of Care Is Needed Following Thyroidectomy?
After surgery, your medical team will make sure that you can swallow liquids before you are able to go home. Most people can resume their normal diet after surgery.
If you had a catheter, it will probably be removed one to two days post-procedure.
You will need someone else to drive you home after your thyroidectomy.
Most people go home the day of or the day after their surgery. But you may need to spend up to three days in the hospital, depending on the situation.
You may experience some pain after the procedure. Your doctor will provide you with instructions on how to manage the discomfort and care for yourself after a thyroidectomy. Follow these orders carefully.
What Are the Possible Complications and Side Effects of Thyroidectomy?
Complications after thyroidectomy are rare, but they can happen. Some possible problems include:
- You may experience acute respiratory distress, which can result from bleeding after surgery.
- Temporary or permanent hoarseness is possible. This can happen if certain nerves are injured.
- You might have temporary or permanent hypoparathyroidism and hypocalcemia, which are conditions that cause low levels of calcium in your blood. These problems can occur if your parathyroid glands are damaged during surgery.
What’s Next
It takes about two to three weeks to fully recover from a thyroidectomy. You should avoid intense physical activities for a week or two after your procedure.
Once you’ve recovered from your surgery, you should be able to participate in any activities you did prior to the procedure. In other words, nothing should be off-limits.
You will have a follow-up visit with your surgeon sometime after your thyroidectomy to check your incision and make sure you have recovered well.
You may need to take a daily thyroid hormone pill, called levothyroxine, after your surgery. If you have a total thyroidectomy, you will need to take this medicine for the rest of your life. If you’ve had a thyroid lobectomy or hemi-thyroidectomy, there’s a 60 percent chance you won’t need to take thyroid medication, unless you already take levothyroxine or tests show you have low thyroid hormone levels.
The Takeaway
Thyroidectomy is a common procedure that’s done to remove all or part of the thyroid gland. You may need this surgery to treat overactive thyroid, a goiter, thyroid cancer, or another issue. Generally, thyroidectomy is a low-risk procedure with favorable outcomes.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
- Thyroidectomy. Mayo Clinic. September 3, 2022.
- Thyroidectomy. Cleveland Clinic. September 8, 2022.
- Robotic Thyroid and Adrenal Gland Surgery. NewYork-Presbyterian.
- Scarless Thyroidectomy and Parathyroidectomy. Johns Hopkins Medicine.
- Thyroid gland removal. MedlinePlus. March 31, 2024.
- Zbären P et al. Thyroid Surgery: Whose Domain Is It? Advances in Therapy. August 10, 2019.
- Scarless Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery. Baylor Medicine.
- Thyroid Surgery. American Thyroid Association.
- What to Expect Before and After Thyroid Surgery. PennMedicine.
Meet Our Experts
Anna L. Goldman, MD
Medical Reviewer
Anna L. Goldman, MD, is a board-certified endocrinologist. She teaches first year medical students at Harvard Medical School and practices general endocrinology in Boston.
Dr. Goldman attended college at Wesleyan University and then completed her residency at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, where she was also a chief resident. She moved to Boston to do her fellowship in endocrinology at Brigham and Women's Hospital. She joined the faculty after graduation and served as the associate program director for the fellowship program for a number of years.
Julie Lynn Marks
Author
Julie Marks is a freelance writer with more than 20 years of experience covering health, lifestyle, and science topics. In addition to writing for Everyday Health, her work has been featured in WebMD, SELF, Healthline, A&E, Psych Central, Verywell Health, and more. Her goal is to compose helpful articles that readers can easily understand and use to improve their well-being. She is passionate about healthy living and delivering important medical information through her writing.
Prior to her freelance career, Marks was a supervising producer of medical programming for Ivanhoe Broadcast News. She is a Telly award winner and Freddie award finalist. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband and four children, traveling, and cheering on the UCF Knights.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
- Thyroidectomy. Mayo Clinic. September 3, 2022.
- Thyroidectomy. Cleveland Clinic. September 8, 2022.
- Robotic Thyroid and Adrenal Gland Surgery. NewYork-Presbyterian.
- Scarless Thyroidectomy and Parathyroidectomy. Johns Hopkins Medicine.
- Thyroid gland removal. MedlinePlus. March 31, 2024.
- Zbären P et al. Thyroid Surgery: Whose Domain Is It? Advances in Therapy. August 10, 2019.
- Scarless Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery. Baylor Medicine.
- Thyroid Surgery. American Thyroid Association.
- What to Expect Before and After Thyroid Surgery. PennMedicine.
Additional Sources
- Thyroid gland removal; MedlinePlus.
- Thyroidectomy; Mayo Clinic.
- Thyroidectomy; Cedars-Sinai.