questionable thyroidectomy

[carolyn1968]

Have multinodular thyroid. fna was benign showing hashimoto throiditis. Doc wants to take thyroid out.  Should I or shouldn't I?

[rynmich]

Hey there!  I just read your question and I will tell you what my surgeon told me who is also a  biologist.  She said that I had Hashimotos thyroiditis.  She said when you have any kind of thyroiditis that is a constant irritation it can actually increase your risk of thyroid cancer.  Let me say, I had no idea I had Hashimotos, I have had symptoms of Hyper and hypo but my blood work came back ok.  Due to some swallowing difficulty they did an ultrasound and found a nodule.  Didnt really think anything of that either, and they scheduled a FNA.  Some suspicion and recommended a hemithyroidectomy.  Once my endo saw the pathology report from the FNA he recommended a total thyroidectomy.  I had that done this past Monday the 18th  The nodule was follicular cancer and they found papillary carcinoma on the other side of my thyroid. I always recommend a second opinion ( I got one)  Take notes and write everything down.  Doctors are different.  Some are agressive and some are wait and see.  You have to do what you feel your gut is telling you to.  I sought the second surgeon because I wanted someone experienced with thyroid AND parathyroid surgery.  She was definitely the one.  She was not aggressive, she did what the endo recommended, she said it would take about two hours to remove the whole thing due to the delicacy of the parathyroid glands.  I would ask them first how many thyroid surgeries they have done.  Take your time and do your research on them.  I hope all goes well.  I also hope I was encouragement to you.

[FTB4]

I would get a second opinion, just to make sure, it could be he wants to remove it due to the nodules as a precaution to avoid the cahnce of thyroid cancer in the future, I am not saying he is wrong, but If it were me, I would get a second opinion anytime someone wanted to remove anything. And the other issue is the Parathyroids that are located behind the Thyroid, I have Hashimotos and I thought at one time, since my immune system is going to destroy my Thyroid eventually, why not just take it out now, get balanced with Medication and be done with it rather than keep changing dosage for the time it takes before my thyroid was no longer working, He told me that that should be a last resort, and his reason was, that many surgeons damage, remove or relocate the Parathyroids while removing the Thyroid, and that can cause another bundle of problems.
I accepted his advise, however that is only one opinion, he said that if I ever do have it removed to make sure an experienced Endcrin Surgeon do the procedure. Welcome to the Forum Best Regards FTB4