Thyroid Surgery in Oceanside, CA
The thyroid is an important gland in the neck that produces hormones responsible for controlling everything from heart rate to metabolism. While common thyroid disorders can often be managed with medications and lifestyle changes. If you are dealing with benign or malignant thyroid nodule, our board-certified otolaryngologists and Head and Neck surgeons Dr. Robert Jacobs, Dr. Richard Liu and Dr. Sarah Carroll may recommend thyroid surgery.
When Is Thyroid Surgery Needed?
Our team of Head and Neck surgeons may recommend thyroid surgery to patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer and patients with thyroid nodules that could be cancerous. When hyperthyroidism—a chronic disorder in which the thyroid produces too much hormone—doesn’t respond to medications and other treatment options, surgery may be necessary to remove the thyroid gland.
What Type of Thyroid Surgery Will I Require?
There are different types of thyroid surgeries that our team performs usually in a hospital setting. We will discuss your operation in detail during your pre-surgical consultation, so you understand why you are undergoing this surgery and what it entails. We will discuss whether performing a partial or total thyroidectomy is indicated. During surgery for more aggressive cancers, we may also need to perform a lymph node biopsy to see if the thyroid cancer has spread. This may impact whether you’ll require additional treatment or cancer therapy after this surgery.
What Happens if I Need To Undergo a Biopsy?
If your doctor suspects that a lesion or nodule could be cancerous, an office based or ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy will be used to remove a small amount of tissue from the thyroid. While an imaging study will be needed to learn the exact size and consistency of a nodule or lesion, a needle aspiration biopsy is the most accurate way to determine if observation or surgery is the best approach.