Management of postoperative complications in thyroid cancer

After thyroidectomy and cervical lymph node dissection, some patients may suffer from surgery-related complications, such as hoarseness and choking on food due to damage to the recurrent laryngeal nerve, hypocalcemia due to damage to the parathyroid glands, numbness or even convulsions in the limbs and face, and corresponding dysfunction due to damage to the cervical nerves. Patients do not return to normal when they are discharged from the hospital, and they need to be observed and advised in the follow-up process to assist in the recovery of function. Especially after total thyroidectomy, the parathyroid glands are damaged, and some patients have hypocalcemia, which should be supplemented with calcium in a timely manner, including oral or intravenous calcium infusion, in order to reach or approach the normal blood calcium level as much as possible. Blood calcium and parathyroid hormone levels should be rechecked regularly after discharge and calcium supplementation should be continued. For laryngeal recurrent nerve and other nerve injuries in the neck, patients should be instructed to perform functional training in order to restore or compensate for the damaged nerve function as soon as possible.