About Traditional Thyroid Surgery

For many people, minimally invasive thyroid surgery is not an option. This may be the case when the amount of tissue to be removed is too large, if the surgery is likely to be complex, or if the surgeon does not perform this type of procedure. When this happens, traditional thyroid surgery will be done.

What Is It?

In the traditional approach, thyroid surgery is performed through an approximately 2-8 cm incision (cut) in the skin of the lower part of the neck. The skin and muscle are pulled back to expose the thyroid gland. The incision is usually made so that it falls in the fold of the skin in the neck, making it less visible.

Blood supply to the gland is "tied off" (stopped) and the surgeon then removes all or part of the gland.

During the operation, the surgeon will take great care to identify and avoid damaging the nerves to the voice box or vocal cords that are found just behind the thyroid gland. 

The surgeon will also take care to identify and preserve the four small parathyroid glands, which lie next to the thyroid gland. These four very small glands produce a hormone called parathormone, which controls calcium levels in the blood.

Benefits and Risks

The principal benefit of thyroid surgery is that it should relieve some or all of the symptoms that you may have been experiencing.

Be sure to ask your doctor for a detailed explanation of the benefits and risks of the surgery, as well as his or her experience performing this kind of procedure. As with all surgery, there are some possible complications that may occur during or following thyroid surgery, such as:

Scarring: There will be a scar, which usually will fade to a fine line that will look like a crease in the neck. But, there is a risk that the scar will not heal as well as hoped and may be broader and/or more raised than expected. There may also be a loss of sensation in the area of skin that was folded back during surgery in order for the surgeon to view the thyroid clearly.

Thyroid hormone-replacement: Depending on how much of your thyroid gland is removed, it is likely that you will need some form of thyroid hormone-replacement therapy after surgery.

Hypoparathyroidism: The parathyroid glands, which are located very close to the thyroid gland, control your body's calcium levels. If the parathyroids are damaged during surgery, this can cause temporary or (rarely) permanent shutdown. This results in a lowered calcium level, called hypocalcemia. Temporary hypoparathyroidism affects about 7% of people. Symptoms of hypoparathyroidism, which usually appear in the first few days after surgery and last for about a week, may include:

• numbness and tingling feeling around the lips, hands, and the bottom of the feet
• crawly feeling in the skin
• muscle cramps and spasms
• bad headaches
• anxiety
• depression.

These symptoms are treated with calcium tablets.

Laryngeal nerve damage: The nerves that control your voice (laryngeal nerves) pass very close to the thyroid. There is a risk that they may be damaged during surgery. This is estimated to happen in about 1 out of every 250 thyroid surgeries.¹ This damage is likely to be temporary and can cause changes to the voice such as:

• difficulty projecting the voice
• hoarse voice
• voice fatigue
• decreased vocal range.

Usually, permanent changes are rare and the voice will return to normal within a few weeks.  Your doctor will take great care during the operation to limit this risk but please discuss this with your health care professional.

General risks of surgery: As with all surgery, there is a risk of bleeding after the operation, as well as some risk from anaesthesia and possible infection. Be sure to ask your doctor about potential complications from your procedure.

Next: Treatment Options for Thyroid Conditions