Week 4: Thyroid and Parathyroid surgery

Question 1

Risks of total thyroidectomy

Answer 1

• injury to recurrent laryngeal nerve
• hypoparathyroidism: venous congestion, inadvertent removal, inability to preserve blood supply (can mince up gland and implant into neck muscle, will produce PTH in 4-6 weeks)
• thyroid storm aka thyrotoxic crisis: acute life threatening hyper metabolic state. release of excessive thyroid hormone into blood stream during surgery. Make patient euthyroid before surgery, give beta blockers, pre-op iodine for devascularization
• thyroid storm symptoms: fever, respiratory distress, tachycardia, ventricular dysrthmias, hypotension, shock

Question 2

Removing thyroid cancer

Answer 2

-must remove total thyroid and compartment 6 lymph nodes