Thyroidectomy

A thyroidectomy is an operation to remove all or part of the thyroid gland, most often performed by an endocrine, general or head and neck surgeon when a patient has thyroid cancer or another thyroid condition such as hyperthyroidism or goiter, and less commonly for cosmetic reasons or to relieve airway obstruction caused by significant thyroid enlargement. The first confirmed thyroidectomy was performed by the Andalusian physician Al-Zahrawi in 952 AD, and the operation is common today, with more than one hundred thousand performed each year in the United States alone; traditional surgery leaves a permanent scar on the neck, though newer minimally invasive approaches, including the trans-axillary technique, offer better cosmetic outcomes and a lower risk of complication. Possible complications include temporary or permanent voice change, temporary or permanent low blood calcium, the lifelong need for thyroid hormone replacement, bleeding and infection.