Thyroid surgery, a necessary intervention to cases of malignancy

When there is a problem in the thyroid gland, thyroid surgery will be used only in certain cases. It is an intervention that is giving very satisfactory results and in which the experience of the surgeon can be key.

The most common diseases related to the thyroid gland , an organ with hormonal function located in the anterior region of the neck, are inflammatory ( thyroiditis ), those derived from the increase or decrease of its hormonal function and both benign and malignant tumors ( thyroid nodules ). In general, only thyroid surgery will be recommended for those cases of growth nodules that cause symptoms of local compression or pose reasonable doubts of malignancy, and in which there is certainty of malignancy.

And this surgical treatment will depend on the pathology to be treated and may involve the removal of one side or lobe of the thyroid, or of the entire gland. In broad strokes we can say that the results of thyroid surgery, in the medium and long term, of all thyroid diseases are very satisfactory.

Complications of thyroid surgery

Regarding complications in the immediate postoperative period, the frequency of these diseases and medical advances has led to a gradual decrease in surgical mortality to figures below 1%. In the worst case, the most serious complication that can occur after a thyroid surgery is a hemorrhage in the operated cervical region that can force an immediate surgery to avoid the symptoms of tracheal compression. With regard to morbidity, there is still a lack of function of the recurrent nerves, which causes a change, temporary or definitive, of the timbre of the voice and the decrease in calcium levels due to lack of activity of the glands parathyroid.

The appearance of these complications can be due to several factors such as the size of the thyroid, a history of previous cervical surgeries or the presence of a malignant lesion. The experience of the surgeon in thyroid surgery also has a decisive influence, since this experience can reduce the number of cases by up to 50%, in addition to reducing the surgical time.

You can find more information in this video interview .