General surgeon removing thyroid: Do I need a specialist?

I don’t know if it is better to have endocrinologist do your surgery, however I think it’s very important to have a surgeon with a strong background in thyroid cancer. I did not think Hurthle cell carcinoma could be diagnosed before surgery…. Testing could reveal strong possibility of HCC but could not diagnose it. Good luck!

hi koh, i have seen the general surgeon and my husband and i just love the heck out of him. what a wonderful, respectful and knowledgeable person he was. thing is, he will not be doing my surgery, he is going to set me up with someone he had interned with and how he specialized in thyroid surgery and being my vocal cord on the right is paralyzed and he feels that the cancer has reached the vocal cords. so i will be waiting on a call to see what's what. so you are so right as far as a dr. with a strong background in thyroids. thanks for listening.

That’s great! It sounds like your surgeon is very good since he knew to refer you to a thyroid specialist for your surgery. Good luck!!!

I had a general surgeon remove my thyroid and it went fine. Ask how many TT’s he does each year.

I was thinking about this and can’t help but wonder if would have been better off having a a head and neck surgeon do my TT. A general surgeon performed my thyroidectomy and I wonder if I had a surgeon specialized in otolaryngology if my second and third surgeries would have been necessary. My last surgery was done by Dr. Moore at Mayo in Rochester, MN. He was very good, I would go see him if you have the ability.

I would go to a doctor who specializes in thyroid surgery or at the very least, call your insurance company and ask about the doctor, the procedure and what they recommend.

I would use a thyroid specialist - endocrinologist who specializes in surgery. It is most definitely a specialty disease and needs someone trained in the thyroid.