What should I do if my voice is hoarse after thyroid cancer surgery?

The main treatment for thyroid cancer is surgery, but surgery is risky because of the rich vascular nerves in the neck. The most common postoperative complication of thyroid surgery is hoarseness and reduced tone. Due to the intraoperative strain and injury to the nerves, postoperative edema and ischemia can cause hoarseness and tone changes, which can affect patients’ interpersonal communication and exchange and bring inconvenience to daily life. Nerve injury is divided into temporary and permanent. Temporary laryngeal nerve injury is caused by postoperative edema, hematoma, and fibrous scar compression of the nerve. Moderate voice protection and articulation training can help restore the function of the vocal cords. (1) Vocalization exercises: Vocalization exercises should be performed after waking up, mainly for low-pitched, short-term speech training. The “wu” sound was then pronounced. At the same time, do candle blowing, whistling, “ya” sound, each time no more than 5 minutes, 3-5 times / day, according to their own situation, can extend the training time. During the vocal exercises, no high pitched voice, no screaming, loud speech should not last too long. (2) In order to promote the vocal cords to be fully abducted, you can do more deep breathing movements when you are not sleeping, and take B vitamins orally to nourish the nerves. (3) Psychological rehabilitation training: Due to the stimulation of surgery and postoperative hoarseness, psychological stress is high. Usually, attention should be paid to emotional regulation, keeping a happy mood, reducing anxiety and depression, and appropriately participating in physical exercise to enhance the immunity of the body. In conclusion, nerve damage after thyroid surgery is mostly temporary, and with the gradual absorption of fluid in the surgical incision and inflammatory edema in the tissue around the lesion, the pressure in the incision is significantly reduced and the symptoms of nerve compression are relieved, and hoarseness can generally be gradually recovered in 3 to 6 months, so there is no need to be too anxious.