Hoarse voice after thyroid surgery

[Arby6]

Hello - I am 28 years old and I had a diagnostic thyroid lobectomy (right side) 5 weeks ago, histology results found it was follicular thyroid carcinoma but thankfully MDT concluded it was non -invasive so no further treatment has been recommended at this time.

My voice was very hoarse after the surgery and at my follow up appointment 2 weeks after the surgery, they scoped me and found my right vocal fold wasn't moving. The consultant said it may get better on its own and offered to see me in 6 months however this seemed far too long so he agreed to 3 months instead, with no treatment plan in the meantime

I'm now 5 weeks post surgery and my voice is very hoarse, weak, breathy and I'm unable to project it at all, I have not seen any improvement in my voice since the surgery. It is also quite uncomfortable to swallow and im unable to cough or clear my throat. I have requested a referral to speech therapy but haven't heard back about whether the consultant has agreed to make the referral.

I was told my surgery was successful, they didnt mention that they felt there had been any nerve damage, surely they would have to tell me if they suspected this?

I would just like to know if anyone else has experienced unilateral vocal fold paralysis following thyroidectomy/hemi-thyroidecyomy and whether it improved on it's own? How long it took for some improvement/voice being back to normal?

Any advice or insight is appreciated xx

[Batty1]

I did not have voice problems after my thyroidectomy but from what I have read its not uncommon and it could take time to come back the surgeon probably irritated the vocal cords…. Apply a warm compress and see if that helps … look around the internet and see what pops up.

[JOY2THEWORLD49]

Hi

I feel for you.

I had a total thyroidectomy and 12 lymph nodes removed on right.

I am a choir and I wanted to be right to sing in our choir at the end of each year. They are Christmas Carols.

My EPOA was with me at each surgical test or appointment.

She told my surgeon that "you cant alter Joy's voice"!

He had me have a rest prior to surgery to get the OKthat my voice box is OK after the stroke that I had 4 months earlier.

The surgeon had 2 drips saline and 1 blue drip through 1 hr before the surgery began.

I awoke to a sore throat and hard swallowing. I drunk smoothies.

I can honestly say it took 3-4 months to get my voice back to almost normal with changing the tone. I am a soprano.

The blue drip was to blue any vein etc as tubes do get in the way and need clipping

out of the way.

Read The Atlas Head and Neck by Gary Claymore .... it will show you how a thyroidectomy is done. He's the top of surgery of thyroidectomy in USA.

My surgeon follow his advice.

Look him up.

What is your thyroxin dosage?

cheri jOY. 74. (NZ)

[Arby6 in reply to JOY2THEWORLD49]

Hi, thank you so much for your reply. It really is so difficult not having your voice.

Did you have vocal fold paralysis too or was your hoarseness due to something else? Did you have problems with coughing and throat clearing as well?

I had a lobectomy so only had one lobe removed so fortunately I don't have to be on thyroxine as the other lobe compensates, luckily my thyroid levels have remain normal xx

[Coper10]

Apologies my reply is so long after your post. I hope you've seen some improvement with your voice. I too had a diagnostic hemi- thyroidectomy, with papillary cancer confirmed. After the op, my surgeon confirmed my laryngeal nerve had been stretched on removing the thyroid nodule (they were monitoring the nerve during the op). My voice was very affected similarly to yours. I was told it could take 6-9 months to improve. As I use my voice a lot for work, I was off sick for 9 weeks. I was given very little information on discharge, had to chase a referral to speech therapist and when that was going to be an indefinite wait, was lucky to be able to access it privately through some health insurance. This helped by giving me exercises to strengthen my voice an to ease any tension and strain. I have improved significantly but still experience discomfort for several days if I overuse my voice at work. I couldn't get over the lack of information and aftercare support - your voice is such an essential part of your identity, that suddenly finding its use was do restricted and challenging had a major impact.

I do hope you're on the road to recovery