Goiter is the enlarged from of the thyroid gland and is caused due to the iodine deficiency in our body. The main symptoms are difficulty in breathing, swallowing etc. Thus; life with goiter becomes difficult and should be treated properly .The various treatments include the radioactive iodine therapy, keeping a check on the diet, and also the goiter surgery.

The goiter surgery is done to remove the goiter by removing the thyroid gland or a part of it when complications arise in breathing or swallowing .The surgery also referred to as Thyroidectomy is carried out when medications do not show positive results. The goiter surgery is performed only after the radioactive iodine therapy is given. It involves the removal of the thyroid gland as a whole or the part of it, it may be either a nodule or multi nodules which cause goiter. The goiter surgery is classified as follows:

• Biopsy or lumpectomy: in this case, a small portion of the thyroid gland is removed.
• Lobectomy: half portion of the thyroid gland is removed in this case while the other half remains.
• Removing whole of the thyroid gland.

For the surgery to be done, a good surgeon should be looked for who is a thyroid surgery specialist. The surgery is carried out only after the important tests like the blood test; CT scan etc. have been performed. The procedure of the goiter surgery is as follows:

• The patient is given anesthesia first of all.
• An incision of about 3-5 inches is made in front across the base of the neck.
• The muscles and skin which cover the thyroid gland are pulled back.
• The blood supply to the gland is for the time being stopped.
• The windpipe is separated from the thyroid and the desired part is removed.
• After that the other important operations like stitches etc are carried out.

These days the facility of the endoscopic surgery is available. The risks which arise during goiter surgery are:

• Excessive bleeding
• Obstruction to breathing.

After the surgery is successfully over, the symptoms also tend to arise after a week or so. They are:

• Anxiety
• Mental depression
• Muscular cramps
• Deteoration in the voice quality in some cases
• Headaches.

Thus, although surgery is known to be the best option for goiter treatment but its recovery takes time and chances of the infection of the thoracic region increase if proper care is not taken.