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I am looking for options post hemithryoidectomy suspicious lymph node
I recently had a hemithyroidectomy after deliberating about active surveillance, but because of the proximity of the papillary nodule near the laryngeal nerve, I opted for the surgery, yet wanted to maintain as much quality of life by leaving the other half of the thyroid intact.
While my pre surgery second ultrasound identified a suspicious lymph node, the ENT surgeon said that during the surgery, he could not find it to remove it. Now he has scheduled a CT scan, which will likley be followed by a biopsy of the lymph node, and he's leaning towards wanting to do re-surgery to remove the lymph node, as well as the other half of the thyroid so that readioactive iodine treatment can be done. I really don't want to have further surgery ( at 72 yrs old), nor do I want the other half of the throid removed or RAI treatment.
Does anyone know of other options that I could consider surveillance of the lymph node or ethanol ablation treatment or other?
thanks,
Dogport
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You are 72 years young. If you dont have other health issues and your surgeon recommends surgery, then I think you should heed their advice. Have you asked your surgeon/team for other options?
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1 ReactionSince the original plan put forth was to do active surveillance, maybe you can wait. A ct scan or ultrasound seems like a better option since it’s noninvasive. If the surgeon could not find the issue when you were having surgery, was it an error from the original ultrasound? Maybe the suspicious lymph node was temporary due to a minor infection and when you had surgery it had cleared up.
I’m not opinion, a ct/ultrasound is non invasive so having it might give you more information. If the surgeon did not see an issue during surgery, I ones to believe it must not have been there. As a person who is having difficulty getting regulated on medication and dealing with many negative side effects, keeping half of your thyroid might help keep you away from needing medication and is much easier to deal with. Good luck!
@kmlnj
Thankyou, Yes I am still pondering options that I will inquire about as I get more information.
@dogport, how are you doing with making your decision? Did you get more information to help make your choice whether to do surgery or not?
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1 Reaction@colleenyoung
I now am waiting for a scheduled biopsy of the lymph node. I would still like to avoid surgery wether the biopsy is benign or metastic. I'm still noticing that the first sugery ( at 72) was hard on me. The next potential surgery will be harder with more potential side effects. In that the CT scan only identified "one" suspicious lymph node, I'm hoping there is a way to treat / remove / ablate that lymph node rather than the full neck dissection along with completion thyroidectomy. It seems like radio frequency ablation may be the option "if" I can get a referral for it, and I'm an acceptable candidate.
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1 ReactionI had removal of half my thyroid for Hurtle cell at 71 Two years later I had nodules in the other half of my thyroid and I had that removed I take Eltroxin daily My bloods are stable Surgery is a very good option for thyroid cancer cure. I unfortunately have a thyroid remnant and another nodule growing on that Awaiting ultrasound results
You may recover faster as now you know what's involved Hope you make right decision
I had a partial thyroidectomy of the left hemisphere of my thyroid for a large suspicious nodule and other smaller nodules at age 70. Pathology during and after surgery showed the nodules removed were not cancerous. I also have several smaller nodules on my remaining right hemisphere that they will monitor with future follow-up visits.
Fortunately the remaining right portion of my thyroid is functioning as it should and I have completely recovered from surgery six months ago.
If they’re willing to monitor you instead of surgery, that might be a nice option for you to consider.
Seems like it would depend on the reason for the initial removal? I had a full thyroidectomy but had cancer that had metastasized into the lymph. Had 12 nodes removed and one that remains that is quite finicky still! I have thought about having it removed but also am not too keen on another surgery. Good luck with everything and glad you are getting a lot of opinions, including that of your doctors.