As I posted, I was wondering whether those who have had a thyroidectomy will be more or less likely to watch, to be "squeamish", than those who have not. And, as you suggest, those who might be anticipating one in their future.
My dad had thyroid surgery ,for hyper in about 1969 when he was in his 40s , Post surgery he bled into his windpipe and came within a few mins of death by suffocation Drowning in his own blood I suppose ANYWAY they did a tracheostomy on him at the very last minute which narrowly saved his life .
A few years later his remaining bit of gland grew a spur which was shrunk by Radioactive Iodine ....or what the medics called " a drink"
I watched a thyroidectomy the night before my surgery (TT), I found it strangely peaceful to watch and understand.
My surgeon thought I was nuts, but she had really emphasized how difficult and delicate the parathyroids were, and I became very curious - I could not believe when I saw the intricacy of that part of the surgery. These surgeons are truly something.
Really fascinating. What I found interesting was I went through this process twice. I had half my thyroid out in 1994 due to a benign tumour as the thinking at the time was they liked to preserve what they could. To be fair the other half did hold its own for 14 years with no need for medication. Unfortunately it also succumbed to a tumour showing signs of change and I had to go through the whole process again in 2008 to have a total thyroidectomy. On one level having seen the potential risks involved with the surgery I would almost have preferred to have had it out in one go….
To the surgeons credit they do an amazing job. Both my surgeries were around two and half hours and very minimal scar. You can argue the pros and cons of surgery, but at least we live in an era that can safely remove them allowing us the choice to live and take medication when there is a real need (such as cancer in this programme). Hopefully one day the medication options will progress further too…..
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