Why is surgery necessary for an overactive thyroid?
Surgery is one of a number of ways to treat an overactive thyroid and your surgeon will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each option before a decision about thyroidectomy is taken. How is a diagnosis of thyroid cancer made? Thyroid lumps (goitre) are very common whereas thyroid cancer is very rare. The best way to determine whether a lump is benign or malignant is to undertake a biopsy of the lump using a fine needle. This test is simple, relatively painless and can be undertaken in the outpatient clinic. Will I need to take thyroxine replacement after surgery? The normal thyroid has considerable spare capacity for making thyroxine and so normally removal of as much as half of the gland can be undertaken without the need to give thyroxine replacement in the form of daily tablets after the operation. Thyroine replacement will be necessary if all of the thyroid gland is removed. What happens before the operation? You will usually be seen one or two weeks before operation and b
