Traditional thyroid surgery removes the thyroid gland through an opening in a patient’s neck. After the surgery, a wound of around 8 cm long will be apparent on the patient’s neck. The wound could scar or grow, swell and even develop into a centipede-like scar which has a certain effect on one’s appearance.
Beauty-conscious or not, no patient would want to carry a “centipede” on the neck. As such, a number of patients would do their own research to avoid the “centipede scar” once they learn that thyroid surgery is necessary, after being diagnosed with a thyroid tumor or hyperthyroidism. Currently, viable options include endoscopic thyroidectomy surgery and micro-incision thyroidectomy surgery which is less invasive and has a shorter recovery time.
