1. Wound pain.
From the day to the first day after surgery, there is more pain of varying degrees in the anterior lower neck area, which is obvious when swallowing. It is generally tolerable and gradually disappears after two or three days with the passage of time.
2. Sore throat and cough.
Due to the slight damage to the laryngopharynx caused by anesthetic intubation, a few patients may have sore throat and cough for three to five days after surgery. Generally, they can recover naturally in 3-5 days after surgery, and if the symptoms are obvious, they can ask the doctor for medication.
3. Nausea and vomiting.
A few patients may have nausea and vomiting on the day after surgery and the next day due to the side effects of anesthesia medication. Once this happens, you can ask the doctor to use antiemetic drugs. This phenomenon will usually disappear on its own the day after surgery.
4. Fever.
On the first day and/or the second day after surgery, there is usually a mild to moderate fever below 38.5 degrees, which is “absorption fever” and is a normal reaction.
5.Eating and drinking.
Six hours after returning to the ward on the day of surgery, you are allowed to start drinking water and eating fluids. It is advisable to try to start with a small amount. When there is no nausea and vomiting, then increase the amount moderately, and generally change to semi-liquid on the second day after surgery. Encourage to change to general diet on the third day.
6. Wound exudation.
As there is a rubber drainage piece left in the wound, red or light red exudation on the dressing gauze on the day after surgery and the next day is a normal phenomenon, there is no need to panic. If the amount is large or if you feel swelling in the neck or even breathlessness, you should notify the nurse practitioner immediately. The drainage skin piece is usually removed in the morning of the first postoperative day.
7. Wound exposure.
The surgical incision is usually exposed on the first postoperative day and thereafter does not require any wrapping.
8. Antibiotics and fluids.
Because the thyroid surgical incision is a sterile wound, postoperative prophylaxis with antibiotics and infusion is usually done once on the same day, and there is no need for a long time with antibiotics and intravenous infusion. If you need infusion for weakness or other reasons, you can ask for it and the doctor will consider it at his discretion.
9.Wound removal.
Since our department has fully adopted absorbable thread to close the incision, there is generally no need to remove the stitches after surgery. Ten days after surgery, the incision can be washed by water, but avoid scrubbing with soap and towel. The postoperative lump around the incision is due to postoperative edema need not worry, and will disappear in a few weeks.
10. Early discharge.
Post-operative healing is a natural process and takes some time. However, as long as the postoperative wound has passed the edema period, and there is no local redness or other special conditions, you can go home to recuperate. This is not only more conducive to recovery, but also reduces the inconvenience of family visits to accompany, and can reduce expenses. If you and your family are not sure, you can ask to extend your hospital stay.
11. Review.
The thyroid gland is an important endocrine organ of the human body, and all types of surgical removal are bound to have temporary or permanent effects on its function. Therefore, from a responsible point of view, the doctor needs to be aware of possible abnormal changes in the actual level of thyroid function. We also ask the patient to cooperate and return to our hospital for a review as planned.