I recently had thyroid surgery to remove what appeared to be a cancerous growth on my thyroid. A few months after surgery, instead of doing better, I was doing worse. My fatigue was such that some days I literally could not get out of bed or stay awake. I would lose feelings in my hands and legs sometimes. I began getting strange muscle cramps and tingling or burning sensations. I started experiencing symptoms that mimicked an anxiety attack. As far as I had been told, my thyroid blood work had been normal; however, my calcium was not. Recent blood tests reflected low calcium (hypocalcemia).
The endocrinologist declined to offer an explanation why my calcium was suddenly dropping, instead telling me to “Eat more dairy” and “Eat those Tums with calcium”. My eating habits hadn’t changed at all, so I knew that the removal of half of my thyroid had to play a part in this. After consulting with a new doctor, it was discovered that during the removal of the left lobe of my thyroid, parathyroid tissue was removed as well. (This information was very accessible, as it was mentioned on my surgical pathology report.) Indeed, hypoparathyroidism is the most common cause of hypocalcemia.
The parathyroid glands are tiny glands, about the size of a grain of rice, located near your thyroid gland. They secrete parathyroid hormone (PTH) and are responsible for controlling your body’s calcium. Humans have about four of them and they have variable anatomy, which means even an experienced surgeon may inadvertently damage or remove them during surgery. Medical literature reports that the “acceptable” rate of such a complication is less than 1% — but recent studies reveal data that shows the actual occurrences of surgically induced hypoparathyroidism is much, much higher, due to several factors.
The 1% error rate is only the case when a surgeon has performed 150 or more thyroidectomies per year; yet the same studies show that 85% of surgeons performed this operation less than every two weeks!
If surgeons were asked how often they performed this surgery, 55% of them overestimated by twofold or more.
Surgeons who perform this surgery one time per month or less are 1000 times more likely to inflict hypoparathyroidism on their patients.
Patients whose surgery was done by an otolaryngologist (an ENT) were 6 times more likely to be affected as opposed to those whose surgery was done by a general surgeon
60% of surgeons never mentioned this as a complication, so when patients began having symptoms, most (like myself) had no idea what was happening.
If you’ve recently had a thyroid surgery or are contemplating thyroid surgery, please be sure to speak to your surgeon about complications. Don’t be afraid to ask about your surgeon’s experience — this is your body. An experienced surgeon will understand your concerns and will be happy to address them.
