Thyroid Gland: All You Need to Know About the Thyroid Gland (part two)

As different as the thyroid problems may be, there isremoved. Before undergoing surgery, the doctor will tell
a treatment for each and one of them. Some areyou what your options are. Not always surgeons
more complicated, others are very simple.know if they are going to remove the whole gland or
For example, if the thyroid gland produces a quantityjust parts of it. This fact is usually discussed in the
of hormones much greater than necessary, doctorssurgery room, while the operating takes place. The
might choose to remove the gland. In contrast, if thedoctors, after removing one lobe of the thyroid, do a
thyroid produces less hormones, hormone pills aremicroscopic reading to determine if the other part of
given to the patient, in order to balance the hormonalthe gland must be removed as well. This test is called
production. This pill must be taken once a day.a frozen section. This test is taken every time
If lumps or goiters are the thyroid problems one maybecause doctors must be sure what to do next.
experience, the treatment is set after a thoroughAfter the operation took place, a tube will be inserted
investigation. Thyroid lumps can be malign or benign.into the wound. This drain has the role to prevent fluid
Joyfully, most of these lumps are benign. But they alsoto build up in the wound. That tube is removed when
must be treated. It is best to try at first a treatmentchances of the fluid building are minimal. Hospitalization
through hormones. The effect is the shrinkage of thedoes not take long, patients are known to be released
lump and it usually takes three up to six months.Therefrom hospital as soon as three days after the surgery.
is also the case in which this mass will not shrink, evenThere are almost zero complications after surgery, but
if treated with these medication. The procedure then isif indeed they exist, they are not of a high importance.
to remove the lump completely.Little bleeding, small problems in swallowing, numbness
As i have said before, most of them are benign. But ifof the neck.
it were the case that the lump should turn up to beIf thyroid surgery is performed to a patient, that person
malign, other treatments are necessary. It is firstmight have to take medication in order to replace the
recommended that a fine needle aspiration to bethyroid hormones. Because there is the risk of low
made, to determine the state of the lump. If it turns outcalcium in the blood, some might also have to take
to be cancerous, then surgery is absolutely necessary.calcium as well.This fact depends on how much of the
Surgery is a must in cases of thyroid cancer, becausethyroid gland is removed.
a part of the thyroid or even the whole gland must be