Partial thyroidectomy: Which cases are indicated?

The article was professionally consulted with Master, Doctor Do Xuan Chien - Head of Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Ha Long International General Hospital.

Partial thyroidectomy: Which case is indicated is a question asked by many people. Indications for a partial thyroidectomy are carefully considered because of the risks associated with a partial thyroidectomy, especially hypothyroidism, so it is advisable to consult your doctor before performing the procedure.

The thyroid gland is an organ located in the neck that produces a hormone called thyroxine (thyroid hormone). This hormone has a role in regulating metabolism in your body.
Partial thyroidectomy can include right lobectomy or left lobectomy, or removal of most of the thyroid gland but leaving a small amount of thyroid tissue. This small portion of thyroid tissue is responsible for maintaining minimal thyroid function. As a result, the amount of thyroid hormone produced falls below normal or low, helping to eliminate symptoms.

Benign tumors on one side of the thyroid gland One-sided hyperthyroidism Small thyroid tumors Multinodular goiter but many healthy tissue remaining Thyroid cysts

Contraindications to General Surgery Basedow and thyroid cancer

Small incisions, ensuring post-operative aesthetics Eliminate thyroid toxicity: Weight loss, sweating, eye symptoms Implementation procedure Anesthesia: endotracheal anesthesia Skin incision: Horizontal line Incision along the lower cervical fold passing through the cervical fascia. Opening into the thyroid cavity: Dissect the skin flap upwards at the level of the hyoid bone. Open along the midline white line into the thyroid cavity Partial thyroidectomy. Identify the part of the thyroid lesion. Dissection preserves important structures such as the parathyroid gland, the recurrent nerve. Removal of the pathological part of the thyroid gland. Careful hemostasis of the cut area and then close the incision with negative pressure drainage.

All surgeries can have complications from anesthesia, excessive bleeding or thrombosis (deep vein thrombosis) Damage to the recurrent laryngeal nerve (this is a branch of the larynx). X nerve, which controls movement of your larynx) Damage to the parathyroid glands (small glands next to the thyroid gland that control calcium levels in your body). Low calcium can be easily treated with calcium supplements, but treatment should be started as soon as possible. Tell your doctor right away if you feel anxious, restless or if your muscles begin to twitch as these are signs of low blood calcium. The severity of hypothyroidism varies from person to person, from mild to severe. When hypothyroidism occurs, if it occurs soon after surgery, there is hope that thyroid function will recover after a while. Late hypothyroidism occurs one or two years after thyroidectomy, which is usually permanent.
Therefore, the symptoms are also very variable, from no symptoms to few symptoms such as gaining weight or feeling cold, eating and drinking, having mild indigestion, severe, full of symptoms such as sluggishness, lethargy, depression or anxiety. Constipation, hoarse voice, heavy body, swollen limbs. People with severe hypothyroidism may have mental disorders, hyponatremia, severe hyperlipidemia and, most importantly, cardiovascular complications.
In real life, many patients come in after surgery for a large goiter, at the time of surgery the thyroid function is still normal. Indications for surgery in these cases are very few, only for those with too large goiters that look bad, the goiter grows inward or hangs down, compressing nearby organs, causing difficulty breathing and swallowing.
Instead of surgical treatment, benign goiter can be treated medically. If hypothyroidism occurs after surgery and is permanent hypothyroidism, the patient must be treated for life to avoid the complications mentioned above. The dosage is always adjusted by a specialist to suit each person, there is no fixed dose like taking panadol because no one suffers from the same impairment, and the body of one person is not the same as another.
Thyroid diseases are often left undiagnosed in 20 - 60% of the total population. That is the reason for Vinmec to launch a package of screening and screening for thyroid diseases. Screening & early detection of common thyroid diseases such as simple goiter, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, thyroiditis, thyroid nodules, thyroid cancer, etc. appropriate and timely treatment.