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Thyroid Surgery Basics: From Minimally Invasive Surgery to Comprehensive Thyroid Cancer Surgery.

Thyroid surgery is introduced here. The correct thyroid surgery depends on the type of thyroid disease, the risk of cancer, patient’s comprehensive evaluation, and the surgeon's ability and expertise. Thyroid cancer surgery is the most effective and primary treatment for essentially all thyroid cancers (except thyroid lymphoma and many anaplastic thyroid cancers). Whether you have a thyroid nodule which may or may not be a thyroid cancer or a known thyroid cancer, the surgery should be an appropriate thyroid cancer surgery! Virtually all thyroid cancer surgery patients should have one (and only one) operation! Thyroid surgery and thyroid cancer surgery can frequently be minimally invasive (incisions about one inch long) for most early thyroid cancers which are located only in the thyroid gland itself or the local lymph nodes. What is most important, is that all of the thyroid cancer is removed from the neck in this initial surgery! Make sure your surgeon is an expert in thyroid cancer surgery (for any surgery on your thyroid gland)! Written by Gary L. Clayman, DMD, MD, FACS. Dr. Clayman has also written extensively about thyroid surgery on the EndocrineWeb site here and in multiple highly reviewed medical publications. See his publications here. Dr. Clayman has also written the Atlas of Head and Neck Surgery which is used by residents and fellows across the globe in their endocrine surgery training. What patients say about their surgeons is also important. See our reviews and 5 star ratings on Healthgrades as well as our many excellent reviews on Google. Last updated October 21, 2018.

Thyroid cancer surgery can often be minimally invasive with an approximately one inch incision in the lower front neck that will heal beautifully in nearly all patients. We have a thyroid cancer surgery which is minimally invasive for you to watch here. You don’t need to be afraid of seeing something shocking. There is no trickery here. Thyroid cancer surgery has no bleeding associated with it. Literally, a drop or two of blood may be lost in these surgeries. What you will see is how important an expert surgeon is to having the correct thyroid cancer surgery. You will also see how a minimally invasive thyroid cancer surgery will remain minimally invasive but still remove all of your cancer.

Incision one month following thyroid cancer surgery Neck incision one month after thyroid cancer surgery

Look at this photo here of a young woman one month following her thyroid cancer surgery. The incision will basically not be visible within one year despite removal of all of her thyroid gland and the surrounding central compartment lymph nodes.

The results are a cure, no complications, and an almost invisible scar (The entire surgery takes 20-40 minutes. It is a piece of art, see for yourself). You don’t need to be concerned over watching any videos on this website. These videos are meant to inform you. You will never be surprised by blood or any ability to identify any individual. Take this opportunity to learn more.

Check out this where Dr. Roy explains the art of her incisions

Quick Facts

Thyroid Cancer Surgery is the most common first treatment and most effective known treatment for the following thyroid cancers:
  • Papillary thyroid cancer (and all of the different types (variants) of papillary thyroid cancers that exist within this group)
  • follicular thyroid cancer
  • hurthle cell cancer
  • medullary thyroid cancer
  • anaplastic thyroid cancer which is confined to the thyroid gland or only found in the neck

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Thyroid cancer surgery is not only the first treatment but is commonly the only treatment that may be indicated for many patients with favorable papillary, follicular and medullary thyroid cancers. It is critical that a highly experienced thyroid cancer surgeon and the correct thyroid cancer surgery is obtained the first time. Thyroid cancer surgery should only be done by expert thyroid surgeons. By choosing the right thyroid surgeon and the correct thyroid cancer surgery, you are cured. The wrong choice may lead to repeated surgeries, complications, and even worse!

Thyroid cancer surgery was one of the first ever described surgeries in medicine, but early on it wasn’t very pretty or safe. Over the past 100 years, thyroid cancer surgery has evolved into its current state of the art by some of the most recognized names in surgical history. Today, in skilled hands, thyroid cancer surgery may be considered an art form in its own right.

Editor's Note: Thyroid cancer surgery is used to provide a diagnosis only in thyroid lymphoma. Thyroid surgery is not a treatment for thyroid lymphoma.

Thyroid cancer surgery must be considered in two different areas when you think about the neck.
  1. Surgery of the thyroid gland itself.
  2. Surgery for the lymph nodes of the neck.
The basic concept is, however, very simple, the thyroid cancer surgery must remove all of the thyroid cancer.
Thyroid Surgery can be approached by three basics types of thyroid gland surgery: What are they and what is right for me?
  • One is removal of about half of the thyroid gland called thyroid lobectomy.
  • The other is removal of all of the thyroid gland and is called total thyroidectomy.
  • The third type of thyroidectomy is called a subtotal or near total thyroidectomy where almost all of the thyroid gland is removed (Editors note: Subtotal thyroidectomy is largely a surgery for removal of thyroid goiters and is not a commonly indicated thyroid cancer surgery. Almost all thyroid cancers are treated primarily with removal of either the entire thyroid gland (total thyroidectomy) or half of the thyroid gland (thyroid lobectomy).

Thyroid Cancer Surgery in Sites Other Than The Neck

Thyroid cancer surgery is uncommonly proposed as a treatment approach when disease has spread to distant sites. Although surgery is not commonly proposed for distant spread of papillary thyroid cancer, consideration for surgery for distant disease is based upon the expert thyroid cancer team evaluation and considers the following issues:

  • Where is the thyroid cancer distant disease located?
  • What are the risks and benefits of surgery?
  • Are there other sites of distant spread?
  • What other thyroid cancer treatments have already been used?
  • What were the outcomes of other treatments for the thyroid cancer?
  • How fast is the thyroid cancer growing?
  • What are the patient’s treatment desires?
  • What are the other treatment options?
  • What is the thyroid cancer pathologic type (what do the cells look like under the microscope?
  • What are the thyroid cancer genetic mutations found?

Thyroid Cancer Robotic and Transoral Surgery

Robotic and transoral thyroid surgery has been developed and continues to evolve as a mechanism of performing thyroid surgery with less noticeable or truly no visible incisions. Our Thyroid Program offers the world leaders in both approaches of transoral and robotic thyroid surgery. Its benefits can include the following:

  • Absent or less noticeable neck incisions
  • Improved visualization
  • Less Surgeon Fatigue

These approaches may be the appropriate thyroid surgery for appropriately selected patients.

The foundation of our care for our patients is the right operation (surgery), for the right tumor, for the right patient.

Become Our Patient

Founded by Dr Gary Clayman, the Clayman Thyroid Center is widely known as America’s leading thyroid surgery center performing nearly 2000 thyroid operations annually. Our reputation as the best thyroid surgeons means patients from all over the US and many foreign countries travel to Tampa for their thyroid surgery. With same-day evaluation and surgery scheduling, we make traveling for thyroid surgery convenient for every patient.

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