Shelby Holt, M.D. Answers Questions On: Thyroid Surgery

We treat nodular disease, thyroid cancer, and some hyperthyroidism with thyroid surgery.

Thyroid surgery is recommended for nodules or goiters that are large, growing, or causing pressure-related symptoms in the neck. The primary treatment for thyroid cancer is surgery, and we see a number of these patients. We also use surgery to treat some types of hyperthyroidism, such as Graves’ disease.

We use parathyroid surgery to treat hyperparathyroidism. Primary hyperparathyroidism is caused by overproduction of parathyroid hormone by one or more parathyroid glands resulting in calcium being pulled out of the bones and put in the blood and urine. Hyperparathyroidism is often linked to kidney stones and osteoporosis.

In parathyroid surgery, we remove the abnormal parathyroid glands, which almost immediately cures the hyperparathyroidism. At UT Southwestern, we often do this surgery as a minimally invasive procedure, and we see a high volume of these patients. We have the experience needed to achieve excellent results.

One of the main risks of thyroid surgery is injury or damage to the nerves that control vocal cord function. During thyroid surgery, we use recurrent laryngeal nerve monitoring to monitor vocal cord function. We also work with industry leaders on new technologies to optimize thyroid surgery.