TT or Partial Thyroidectomy ? : Did you have any complications after surgery? Were they permanent?

[ChitChatNine]

This is a good poll for those to see some of the complications or lack thereof many of us have experienced .. real life answers from real life patients is always a nice way to see the real-world, but remember many on this community have had complications and that is why they are here so it doesn't represent any statistical data - merely as a reference/resource for ourselves.

C~

[ChitChatNine]

I had stich abscesses, an infectious granuloma - both temporary

I have scar tissue which presents with tightness in the neck higher up along the muscle which they *think* is scar tissue.

Scar looks better every day!

C~

[chris7467]

My only coplication was that the doctor had no idea that I had cancer.  He thought I had a goiter on my left side, so after removing the left side of my thyroid he sent it off and a few days later found out that I had Follicular cancer, so 2 weeks after the first surgery I had the rest of my thyroid removed.

[lilypad300]

I voted complications that were temporary:

After my TT in August '08, I had severe hypocalcemia which left me in the hospital on an iv calcium drip for 8 days. . .
It is now 12 weeks post-op & I'm happy to say that my calcium levels have normalized & it seems that my parathyroids have kicked back in.

Other than that, my scar is still a bit raised & I just received my second steroid injection today, but it is looking better all of the time.

All in all, I am happy with my treatment choice and would go through it again
(minus the hypocalcemia of course)

[MJ13]

I had hypocaliumia. I had tingling in lips, toes, and hands...then muscle cramping in hands so bad that I could pick up a glass.  I was suppose to be in the hospital for 2 nights and ended up being in for 7 days.  I found out that people with Graves Disease are prone to hypocaliumia after having a TT.  

[nissah46]

Temporary:I had a paralyzed vocal cord so lost my voice for 6 weeks. Permanent: I had 2 parathyroids removed during surgery and the remaining 2 have never resumed working.  

[utahmomma]

Does unstoppable weight gain count??

[kipland]

Temporary ~ I had paralyzed vocal cords as well, which lasted right around 4 weeks.  This may sound stupid, but I never realized that the vocal cords also affected breathing and swallowing liquids.  At my one year checkup with the ENT, one vocal cord is back to 100%, the other is at 80%.  The only time I notice it is when I sing, so it's a good thing that's not my profession!  (I'll bet LOTS of people are thankful for that!!)

[RavingMad]

No real complications as such, but I'm permanently numb from above my TT (Jan '07) scar right up my neck  & chin. GP said I'd most probably get feeling back when the micro nerves heal - I'm still waiting. Lol.

[redheadaussie]

Hmmmmm hard to answer...the low calcium issue is still ongoing and not sure if it will be permanent. Tightness in throat supposedly caused by scar tissue but am still getting that checked. Thyroxine levels go up and down like a yo-yo..so who knows if that is temporary.
  But otherwise, it went according to plan, got thyroid out, did pathology, discovered pretty much as thought then the dog got a good feed of what was left of it..(just kidding...it wasn't the dog..it was the cat....hee hee)

[RodeoQueen]

No none really after two surgeries May 5th and again the 27th and a DX of Paillary Carcinoma and RAI the 4th of July. Cancer TG levels are still in my blood but the inital surgeries NONE!

[hazelhurst]

After TT, my parathyroids were disturbed during surgery (only one was touched and reimplanted, the other 3 were not touched).  They all stopped functioning (out of shock? retaliation?) for about 18 months. After slowing weaning off the meds and calcium, I still take four calcium pills a day.  My parathyroids did ultimately kick back in, and in that sense I was really lucky!