Trusted Resources: Evidence & Education
Scientific literature and patient education texts
Thyroidectomy for Graves’
source: Graves' Disease & Thyroid Foundation
year: N/A
authors: Kyle Zanocco
summary/abstract:The surgical treatment of Graves’ disease consists of the removal of a portion or all of the thyroid gland in a surgical procedure known as thyroidectomy. This procedure was the treatment of choice for Graves’ disease prior to the 1950’s but is now less popular in the United States than radioactive iodine (RAI), which is felt to be lower-risk than surgery. However, major technical advances in the field of thyroid surgery make thyroid surgery a viable and sometimes superior treatment choice for Graves’ disease patients.
In brief, the two surgical options are total thyroidectomy (sometimes called near-total), where all the thyroid gland is removed, and subtotal thyroidectomy, where some of the thyroid is left in place. Subtotal thyroidectomy may be offered in an attempt to remove enough thyroid tissue to cure the hyperthyroidism, but leave just enough to prevent the need for lifelong thyroid hormone medication.
read more
Related Content
-
Ken Kazahaya, MD, MBA, FACSKen Kazahaya is Associate Director of th...
-
Should I Consider Thyroidectomy for Graves’ Disease?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuodaiVD...
-
Racial Disparities in Thyroid Surgery: Summary for the PublicBackground: Recent protests over police...
-
Lilly H. Wagner, MDLilly H. Wagner, MD, is an ophthalmologi...
-
Impact of Potassium Iodide on Thyroidectomy for Graves’ Disease: Implications for Safety and Operative Difficu...Background: Potassium iodide (KI) is of...
-
Thyroid Surgery for Graves’ Disease and Graves’ OphthalmopathyBackground: Graves' disease is an autoi...
-
Treating Graves’ – Different StrokesOnce the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism du...
To improve your experience on this site, we use cookies. This includes cookies essential for the basic functioning of our website, cookies for analytics purposes, and cookies enabling us to personalize site content. By clicking on 'Accept' or any content on this site, you agree that cookies can be placed. You may adjust your browser's cookie settings to suit your preferences. More Information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.