Thyroid tumor, cut or leave?

Many people with thyroid tumors think that removing it will make them feel better and why monitor them so much. But some people are afraid of thyroid surgery because they think they will have to take medication for the rest of their lives? Sounds reasonable but it is not true.

A thyroid surgery - Photo: BVCC

Medication, if needed, is part of treatment to help people stay healthy and keep their hormones stable, not a lifelong "chain."

Dr. TUAN

So should I remove the thyroid gland to feel lighter or not have surgery because I'm afraid that if I have surgery I will have to take medication for the rest of my life?

Thyroid is not a redundant thing to be discarded.

Dr. Nguyen Xuan Tuan - lecturer at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hanoi National University - said that many people, when they know they have a thyroid nodule, immediately think: "Let's have it removed for peace of mind, because if we leave it for too long, it will turn into cancer." It sounds reasonable, but it is actually very dangerous.

The thyroid is not a redundant thing to be thrown away but an important endocrine organ that controls the body's biological rhythms.

It secretes hormones T3, T4 that affect the cardiovascular system, digestion, warmth, memory, mood, reproduction... With a lack of thyroid hormones, you may experience fatigue, weight gain, dry skin, hair loss, coldness, depression, menstrual disorders, decreased libido, and even miscarriage.

Many post-operative patients must use hormone replacement for life, but adjusting the dose is difficult: too much causes anxiety, hand tremors, insomnia; too little causes lethargy and weight gain. Not to mention, if the surgery is not performed correctly, the thyroid gland will be lost, metabolic disorders will occur, psychological crises will occur, and in the end, more suffering will occur.

Therefore, when a thyroid nodule is discovered, the first thing to do is not to "ask for surgery" but to find out whether the thyroid tumor is benign or malignant, whether surgery is needed, if surgery is needed, whether to remove a lobe or the entire tumor, and which doctor will perform the surgery.

"The thyroid is to be kept, not to be removed. Only when it can no longer be kept, should we consider removing it," said Dr. Tuan.

Have to take medicine for life after surgery?

In clinical practice, doctors also encounter many patients who are afraid of "having to take medication for life after surgery?". Actually, this is a common misunderstanding that needs to be understood correctly.

First, not everyone who has thyroid surgery has to take medication for life: If the entire thyroid is removed, the body no longer has glandular tissue to secrete the hormone thyroxine (T4), so levothyroxine must be taken for life. This is a way to compensate for physiological hormones, not "drug dependence".

But if only one lobe of the thyroid gland (one side) is removed, more than 70% of patients do not need long-term medication. The remaining side can produce enough hormones for the body. If needed, the dose is very low, completely safe and easy to control.

Second, one thyroid lobe is still enough to live a healthy life: The thyroid is an organ with excellent compensatory ability. When one side is left, the remaining thyroid tissue will increase the synthesis of T3 and T4 hormones to meet the body's needs, a self-regulating mechanism according to the homeostasis principle. Therefore, after surgery, the patient is not "drug dependent" but the body can still self-regulate as usual.

Third, if only the nodule is removed, the thyroid gland is left intact - almost no effect: In many cases of benign thyroid nodules, the doctor only removes the nodule or cuts the lobe containing the nodule, leaving the healthy thyroid tissue intact. The thyroid gland then continues to function normally.

Except in cases of pre-existing autoimmune thyroiditis (hashimoto's), the thyroid tissue is gradually destroyed, and the risk of hypothyroidism is high even without surgery. So don't let the fear of "taking medication for life" delay you from getting the right treatment. The worrying thing is not taking medication but the progression of the disease: enlarged thyroid nodules, difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, or cancer.

HA TUONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/u-tuyen-giap-cat-hay-de-20251028014602617.htm