What is the most common complication post-thyroidectomy in the ward?

What is the most common complication post-thyroidectomy in the ward?

Hypocalcemia was the most frequent post-thyroidectomy complication, whereas voice changes, seroma, hematoma, and tracheal injury are rare complications.

What are some post op complications seen after thyroid surgery?

Definition. Major postoperative complications include wound infection, bleeding, airway obstruction (compressing hematoma, tracheomalacia), hypocalcemia, thyroid storm (uncommon, usually associated with Grave’s disease) and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury. Incidence is 3-5%.

What is the most serious complication of thyroidectomy?

The most devastating complication is bilateral partial injury that can result in immediate postop stridor and inability to breathe.

What are the possible complications of a thyroidectomy?

Potential complications include:

  • Bleeding.
  • Infection.
  • Low parathyroid hormone levels (hypoparathyroidism) caused by surgical damage or removal of the parathyroid glands.
  • Airway obstruction caused by bleeding.
  • Permanent hoarse or weak voice due to nerve damage.

Is thyroidectomy a high risk surgery?

Thyroidectomy can lead to some inevitable complications, including the most common parathyroid injury (3–5%) and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (1–5%). It is accepted that patients who undergo total or partial thyroidectomy must use thyroxine replacement, or even suppression, therapy for the rest of their lives.

Why do you breathe hard after thyroidectomy?

Common causes of this complication include compression due to formation of a hematoma, tracheal collapse, laryngeal edema and bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, and they should be taken into consideration to ensure prevention and/or timely treatment of dyspnea (1,2).

How do you know if you have a hematoma after thyroidectomy?

Patients with post-thyroidectomy hematoma may present with respiratory distress, pain or a pressure sensation in the neck or dysphagia. The signs include progressive neck swelling, suture line bleeding, dyspnea or stridor and a significant amount of drain losses (6).

Why is it hard to breathe after thyroid surgery?

What happens when after thyroidectomy there is damage to the external laryngeal nerve?

Vocal cord paresis or paralysis due to iatrogenic injury of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLNI) is one of the main problems in thyroid surgery. Although many procedures have been introduced to prevent the nerve injury, still the incidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy varies between 1.5-14%.

Is it normal to feel like something is stuck in your throat after thyroid surgery?

Many patients will feel that there is something stuck in their throat or that they need to frequently clear their throat after surgery. All of these are normal, expected symptoms following surgery. Ice chips, cool drinks, throat lozenges (Cepacol) or throat spray (Chloraseptic) can be beneficial for sore throat.

How long will my throat hurt after thyroid surgery?

Sore Throat/Cough This is normal to experience after surgery and will often last up to 5 days after surgery. Lozenges and a softer diet may be helpful until this resolves. You may also feel like you have phlegm in your throat and need to cough. This is due to the irritation of the tube in your windpipe during surgery.

What are the symptoms of laryngeal nerve damage?

Damage to the nerves of the larynx can cause hoarseness, difficulty in swallowing or breathing, or the loss of voice. Treatment depends on the cause and extent of the laryngeal nerve damage. Damage to the laryngeal nerve can result in loss of voice or obstruction to breathing.

How long does it take for your throat to heal after thyroid surgery?

Your voice probably will be hoarse, and you may have trouble talking. For most people, these problems get better within 3 to 4 months, but it can take as long as a year. In some cases, this surgery causes permanent problems with chewing, speaking, or swallowing.

Which nerve is damage in thyroidectomy?

RECURRENT laryngeal nerve damage is a well-recognized morbidity after thyroidectomy and has been involved in most claims concerning complications of thyroid surgery. The reported incidence of permanent nerve palsy varies widely from 0% to 5.8% of patients after thyroid operations.

What structures can be damaged during thyroidectomy?

The main structures that are jeopardized during thyroid surgery are those arising from the vagus nerve at various heights: the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve (EB-SLN) and the inferior laryngeal nerve.

What are potential major complications from thyroid surgery?

Large thyroid or multi-nodular goitre (a goitre is an enlarged thyroid gland) causing obstructive symptoms of breathing or swallowing difficulties

  • Solitary nodule thyroid adenoma (a benign tumour)
  • Thyroid cancer
  • Graves’ disease (hyperthyroidism or thyrotoxicosis)
  • Recurrent thyroid cyst
  • Where the type of nodule is unclear
  • What should I expect after thyroid surgery?

    After your thyroidectomy or thyroid lobectomy, you may have a temporary sore throat, neck pain, difficulty swallowing or a weak voice. Your diet will be restricted for the evening of your surgery, but in most cases, it can return to normal the next day. Before you leave the hospital, we’ll schedule a follow-up appointment, give instructions for

    What is the major complication after thyroidectomy?

    Thyroidectomy has potential complications. The major postoperative complications are hypocalcemia, wound infection, hematoma, recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury, and Horner’s syndrome.[3,4,5] Hypocalcemia is the important postoperative complication of thyroid surgery causing potentially severe symptoms and increasing hospitalization time.[6

    Do you still have Graves disease after thyroidectomy?

    Thyroidectomy is said to end Graves’ disease, however, yet for some patients, having their thyroid removed may not be the end of their symptoms. According to Dr. Kresimira Milas, “once a patient has their thyroid removed there is less than a one or two percent chance of the grave’s disease returning.”. Dr. Milas said, “after surgery Graves’ disease is essentially cured, the thyroid is gone so the immune system has no target, and so the grave’s disease is gone in that respect.”.