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Get answers to your Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery questions.
Dr. Douglas Turner’s Bio | Q&A Archive
Total thyroidectomy; Partial thyroidectomy; Thyroidectomy; Subtotal thyroidectomy
Thyroid gland removal is surgery to remove all or part of the thyroid gland. Your thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland that lies over your trachea (the tube that carries air to your lungs). It is just below your voice box.
The thyroid gland is part of the endocrine system. It helps your body regulate your metabolism.
You will have general anesthesia (asleep and pain-free) for this surgery. Rarely, the surgery may be done with local anesthesia and medicine to relax you. You will be awake but pain-free.
Your surgeon may do the procedure through a surgical cut in your neck.
Your doctor may recommend thyroid removal if you have:
You may also have surgery if you have an overactive thyroid gland and do not want to have radioactive iodine treatment, or you cannot be treated with antithyroid medicines.
Hanks JB, Salomone LJ. Thyroid. In: Townsend CM, Beauchamp RD, Evers BM, Mattox KL, eds. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 18th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2008:chap 36.
Lai SY, Mandel SJ, Weber RS. Management of thyroid neoplasms. In: Flint PW, Haughey BH, Lund VJ, Niparko JK, Richardson MA, et al, eds. Cummings Otolaryngology: Head & Neck Surgery. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier;2010:chap 124.
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