Thyroidectomy, like other types of surgery, will see its safety and surgical success rate increase as medical technology advances. Still, all operations carry risks and those from thyroidectomy could include:
Coarse voice:
A common side effect of a thyroidectomy is a coarse voice. This is mainly because the recurrent laryngeal nerve (an extremely narrow nerve between the thyroid gland and trachea responsible for controlling the vocal cord muscle) can be traumatized in the operation. The patient’s voice will become coarse. But in most cases, this is only temporary and the condition should improve.
Low calcium level in blood:
The parathyroid gland helps calcium regulation in the body. If that is traumatized in the operation, this could affect the calcium levels in the blood. In some cases, patients could feel numbness in their fingers or experience cramps. Yet overall, these risks have less than 5% chance of occurring and most are temporary. Patients can, under the advice from doctors, retain their calcium level by taking calcium supplements before they are fully recovered.
Bleeding:
It is extremely rare for bleeding to occur during and after an operation. Should this happen, the attending doctor will press the case for emergency treatment depending on the situation.
Through experience, skills and critical judgment, the surgeon in charge of the operation will aim to minimize the risks of the above sequela. 。
