Disadvantages of Partial Thyroid Removal for Thyroid Cancer Video

Thyroid cancer requires you to choose the right operation for each patient depending on their specific cancer. This requires the thyroid surgeon you choose to be very knowledgeable regarding thyroid cancer. The disadvantages of partial removal of the thyroid for thyroid cancer (not taking the entire thyroid out) include the inability to treat with radioactive iodine postoperatively and the inability to look at blood for markers of thyroid cancer (thyroglobulin and calcitonin) postoperatively. In this video, Dr. Gary Clayman discusses the disadvantages of removal of part of the thyroid gland, called a thyroid lobectomy or partial thyroidectomy. If there is not a significant risk of the thyroid cancer recurring in the thyroid or the lymph nodes in the neck, then these disadvantages are not significant to the patient.

If your thyroid cancer has spread to the lymph nodes of the neck, any distant sites or grown outside of the thyroid gland itself, then total removal of the thyroid is the preferred treatment (a partial thyroid removal or thyroid lobectomy would not be appropriate). Personalized thyroid cancer care is what you should seek. Choose the right thyroid surgeon, to perform the correct operation for you and your thyroid cancer.