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Thyroid surgery (thyroidectomy)

Issues around the thryoid gland can leave you living in discomfort. Thyroid surgery can help stop the pain.

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Why Have Thyroid Surgery with us?

For some patients suffering from disorders of the thyroid gland, surgery may be an appropriate recommendation.

By choosing to have your thyroid surgery at one of our hospitals, you can benefit from:

  • Fast access to a consultant, often within 24 hours
  • Dedicated clinical care from a multi-disciplinary team
  • Flexible payment plans for self-pay patients
  • Easy access to treatment for those with private medical insurance

Circle Health has over 55 locations across England and Scotland, offering patients all over the UK access to fast and affordable private healthcare. Find your nearest hospital here.

How Much does Thyroid Surgery Cost?

The cost of having thyroid surgery can vary depending on the consultant performing the procedure. Prices can also vary between hospital and region.

A fixed cost for thyroid surgery will be given following an initial consultation; however, our team can often provide a quote upon enquiry.

To find out more, you can make an enquiry here or call us on 0808 101 0337.

If you’re looking to pay for your own treatment, you may qualify for our flexible finance plans. You can find out more here.

What is Thyroid Surgery?

Surgery may be recommended for a number of disorders of the thyroid gland, such as:

  • A thyroid goitre that is restricting breathing or swallowing
  • Tumours on the thyroid gland
  • Graves’ disease
  • Thyroid cancer

Thyroid surgery is usually performed under general anaesthetic.

There are a number of procedures that are classed as “thyroid surgery”, the most common of which are:

  • Thyroid lobectomy or “hemithyroidectomy” – the removal of half of the thyroid gland
  • Isthymusectomy – the removal of the central section of the thyroid gland
  • Total thyroidectomy – the removal of the whole thyroid gland
  • Near-total thyroidectomy – the removal of most of the thyroid gland 

Preparing for Thyroid Surgery

Your consultant will advise you of the necessary preparation for the surgery, but patients can expect to have some pre-operative tests and screenings. These may include:

  • Thyroid function tests
  • Blood and calcium tests
  • Chest X-rays
  • CT scans
  • Electrocardiograms

Recovering from Thyroid Surgery

In the days after your surgery, you will be carefully monitored for excessive bleeding. The thyroid gland is particularly blood-rich tissue, so your team of healthcare professionals will want to make sure that there are no complications.

Your consultant will also arrange for blood tests to check thyroid function.

The type of thyroid surgery you undergo will impact your recovery and medication. 

Thyroid Surgery FAQs

Can thyroid surgery affect my voice?

Many patients find that their voice is temporarily hoarse after surgery. This is usually just due to inflammation in the area.

If the primary nerve connecting to the voice box is damaged, then your voice can sound husky. However, this usually improves.

Permanent vocal damage can occur during thyroid surgery, although this is a rare occurrence1. If your voice is damaged during surgery, there are operations that can help, as well as speech therapists who are specifically trained in this type of recovery.

Those who perform with their voice, such as singers or public speakers may struggle to project their voice in the same manner after surgery. This is often temporary.

We advise anyone who uses their voice professionally to make their consultant aware before the procedure.

Will I Have a Scar?

For most patients, any scarring will be subtle and hardly visible. However, there is a chance that patients may develop a keloid scar.

If you experience keloid scarring, steroid and laser treatment can reduce scarring.

If you’ve suffered from keloid scarring in the past we recommend discussing this with your consultant before the surgery.

Sources

1 https://collectedmed.com/index.php/article/article/demo_article_display/7580/83/1/1

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