How to get Thyroidectomy Surgery Abroad at affordable costs

March 22nd, 2010 by admin

Thyroidectomy is the surgical removal of the thyroid gland. The surgical procedure of thyroidectomy involves a partial or a complete removal of the thyroid (a gland, which is located in front of the lower neck, just above the trachea). There are various destinations, across the globe that offers surgical procedures to manage thyroid disorders. India, Jordon, turkey, Costa Rica and Mexico rank high up in the list, as they provide cost effective and excellent quality health care services. This article teaches you about the things you must know before considering thyroidectomy surgery abroad and the ways you can get thyroidectomy surgery abroad at affordable costs.

Indications for thyroidectomy:

A large goiter which is not likely to respond to anti-thyroid drugs, may require a surgical removal of the thyroid gland, in order to avoid pressure on the trachea and the esophagus, which could subsequently result in breathing and swallowing difficulties, respectively.

Persistent side effects of drug therapy or poor drug compliance or non response to radioactive iodine therapy, resulting in recurrent episodes of hyperthyroidism requires an excision of the thyroid gland.

Thyroidectomy is used to obviate the need for radioactive iodine therapy, especially in children.

In pregnant women, when drug therapy fails to control hyperthyroidism, thyroid surgery is recommended

Malignancies and tumors of the thyroid gland require surgical excision.

It is also recommended in cases of clinical manifestations like a rapid growth of the thyroid gland, severe pain, and cervical lymphadenopathy, or when there has been previous irradiation to the neck. A Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) needs to the preformed to confirm the diagnosis and decide on the type of surgery.

Functionally or anatomically benign goitres, cause a lot of anxiety among patients and are preferred to be surgically excised for cosmetic reasons.

Preparing for Thyroidectomy:

Two to four weeks prior to the surgical procedure, all anti-thyroid drugs are withdrawn.
Potassium iodide 60 mg, thrice a day is prescribed, about a week prior to the procedure, to reduce vascularity (blood supply) to the gland.
10 to 12 hours of ‘nil by mouth’ (refraining from eating or drinking) is a pre-requisite for the surgery.

Thyroidectomy procedure:

The thyroid surgery can be classified into three main types.

Total thyroidectomy: This involves the complete and total removal of the gland.
This type of surgical procedure is recommended in cases of thyroid cancers, particularly in, destructive cancers, such as anaplastic or medullary thyroid cancer. It is frequently suggested in the management of larger goiters including Graves’ hyperthyroidism.

2. Subtotal thyroidectomy or partial thyroidectomy: It is the partial removal of the gland. This course of action is suitable for tumors that are smaller in size and non-aggressive like follicular and papillary cancers which are limited to only one side of the gland. While performing a partial or subtotal thyroidectomy, the gland is removed bilaterally, in such a way that one to five grams of the thyroid tissue is left behind in either lobes of the gland.

Thyroid lobectomy: A less frequently used procedure, which involves the removal of about of a quarter of the gland.

The surgical procedure takes not more than 2 hours. The surgery is invariably performed under general anesthesia.

Some surgeons use local anesthesia (to make the area numb) plus a sedative (to keep you calm). Surgery under local anesthesia is becoming progressively more popular, since it reduces the hospital stay, diminishes the time for surgery, and also le