When the thyroid gland cannot regulate its function normally, it causes abnormalities within the body. Treating thyroid disease to control this condition is important. Therefore, helping patients return to their daily lives as normally as possible with the technique of “transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy” is considered another success in the field of Thai surgery.
Getting to Know Thyroid Disease
More than half of thyroid diseases are caused by immune system abnormalities or white blood cells in the bloodstream. Patients with thyroid disease experience varying severity of illness. Treatment is therefore aimed at controlling the condition to reduce its severity and enable patients to live as normally as possible. Currently, treatment tends to involve long-term continuous medication, while the medical field continues to seek solutions to address the root cause.
There Are 3 Types of Thyroid Abnormalities…
- Excess Thyroid Hormone is a condition where hormones are secreted in excess, causing symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, palpitations, insomnia, and weight loss. Importantly, mood swings occur frequently.
- Thyroid Hormone Deficiency is a condition where hormones are secreted less than the body’s needs. People with thyroid hormone deficiency have a slow pulse, feel cold, have memory loss, swelling, and constipation. If severe and prolonged, it can cause brain degeneration and memory impairment. If it occurs in children, it can cause dwarfism and autism.
- Thyroid Nodules is a condition where hormone secretion is normal but there is an abnormality in the thyroid gland, causing nodules that may be benign tumors or can become cancerous.
Transoral Endoscopic Thyroidectomy…A Better New Option
Treating thyroid disease with transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy significantly improves the quality of life for patients with enlarged thyroid nodules in the neck and boosts patient confidence almost 100%. This surgical technique does not cause obvious external scars like traditional methods, which satisfies patients who want no visible scars on the neck. This method also helps patients recover faster because the wounds are smaller.
Pre- and Post-Operative Care
Before Surgery
- You can eat normally; there is no need to fast except avoid supplements such as fish oil or cod liver oil because they tend to cause easy bleeding.
- Try not to catch a cold before surgery because general anesthesia cannot be administered if you have a cold.
After Surgery
- In the first 24 hours, avoid forceful spitting, coughing, or shouting loudly as these increase the risk of bleeding.
Surgical Procedure
- Patients must be admitted to the hospital one night before surgery to prepare.
- Patients will lie on their back with their neck slightly extended.
- The doctor will make small incisions about 1 centimeter in size: one in the middle at the junction between the lower lip and the gum of the lower teeth, and two 0.5 cm incisions on the sides. The surgeon will dissect from the incisions inside the mouth down under the skin to the thyroid gland in the neck using specially designed instruments, including a camera with 20x magnification and tools about 30 centimeters long, to perform the thyroidectomy through the oral cavity incisions. The thyroid gland is cut and removed through the oral incisions, and bleeding is controlled at the surgical site.
- The duration of surgery depends on the size of the nodule, averaging about 2-4 hours.
