The thyroid gland can be removed in its entirety, and a total thyroidectomy is usually required in the following cases: for benign thyroid nodules, if they are present bilaterally, if they are large or if there is no normal thyroid tissue left in the bilateral multiple nodules, the surgery requires removal of the entire thyroid gland bilaterally, followed by lifelong administration of levothyroxine sodium tablets to maintain thyroid function, with subsequent periodic review of thyroid function and ultrasound.
For thyroid cancer, if it is multiple papillary carcinoma or bilateral papillary carcinoma, or follicular carcinoma on one side, as well as early medullary carcinoma and undifferentiated carcinoma, both thyroid glands need to be removed at the same time, and the lymph nodes in the central area of the neck on the affected side need to be cleared, along with other regional lymph nodes found to be metastatic before surgery. If you have more metastases in the lymph nodes, or if you have distant metastases of papillary carcinoma, you also need to do iodine,sup>131 therapy.
Postoperatively, again, you need to take levothyroxine sodium tablets for life and go to an endocrine suppressed state. Bilateral total thyroidectomy is technically more demanding, and the probability of injury to the laryngeal recurrent nerve, parathyroid glands, and hoarseness are greatly increased, so patients must go to regular hospitals for surgical treatment.