Thyroidectomy sequelae in women

Thyroid diseases are relatively common, mainly including hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, and thyroid adenoma, which are relatively common thyroid diseases. When you have this type of disease, if it is serious, you may need to remove it for treatment. After removal, there will often be some sequelae. For women, the incidence of thyroid disease is relatively high. After removal, it is necessary to prevent sequelae and strengthen management.

Thyroidectomy sequelae in women

When thyroid disease becomes severe to a certain extent, removing it is also an effective treatment method. For women, are there any sequelae after thyroid removal? Many patients have such confusion. We can solve this situation through in-depth understanding and not scare ourselves without a confirmed diagnosis. Let’s take a look at it together below.

1. Postoperative dyspnea and suffocation.

This is the most critical complication after surgery, and usually occurs within 48 hours after surgery. Common causes include: bleeding within the incision, hematoma formation, tracheal compression; tracheal collapse; laryngeal edema; and bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve injury.

2. Thyroid crisis.

The cause of the disease has not yet been confirmed. The crisis is often caused by insufficient preparation before surgery and failure to control hyperthyroidism symptoms well. Thyroid crisis usually occurs within 12 to 36 hours after surgery, with symptoms including high fever, rapid and weak pulse (more than 120 beats per minute), irritability, delirium, and even coma, often accompanied by vomiting and watery diarrhea.

3. Convulsions of hands and feet.

If the parathyroid glands are mistakenly removed during surgery, or if they are bruised or their blood supply is compromised, it can cause hypoparathyroidism and the blood calcium concentration may drop to below 8mg%. In severe cases, it may drop to 4mg% to 6mg%, which can significantly increase neuromuscular irritability and cause hand and foot cramps. Symptoms usually appear 1 to 3 days after surgery. Most patients have mild and short-lived symptoms, with only tingling, numbness or stiffness in the face, lips, hands and feet. In severe cases, persistent spasms of the facial muscles and hands and feet may occur, with attacks occurring multiple times a day, each lasting 10 to 20 minutes or longer.

4. Hoarseness.

It is mainly caused by direct damage to the recurrent laryngeal nerve during surgical operations, such as cutting, suturing, ligation, clamping, etc.; a few cases are caused by hematoma compression or scar tissue traction. The former develops symptoms during surgery or immediately after waking up from general anesthesia, while the latter develops symptoms several days after surgery. Hoarseness caused by cutting and suturing is a permanent injury; hoarseness caused by traction by bruising, clamping or compression by hematoma is mostly temporary and can generally be gradually recovered after 3 to 6 months of treatment.

Because the thyroid gland has undergone irreversible disease, combined with the physical condition, we finally decided to undergo a resection surgery. It is not that we are missing anything because of this, but this resection surgery was performed for a better life and a healthier body. After the operation, you need to pay more attention and add more nutrients to your diet so that your body can gradually recover.