Recovery from Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery
Advise from Consultant Surgeon James Kirkby-Bott
Returning to Day-to-Day Activities
The following advice is designed to help you recover from your operation and enjoy your recovery period. Following this advice will maximise the final outcome you have.
From Day 1
You can shower, be up, dressed and mobile.
Exercise by starting with the neck stretches and a gentle walk. Also stretch your shoulders and add in arm movements like a front and back swimming crawl stroke motion.
Days 2-7
Continue building on the level of movement and exercises from day 1.
Try and avoid anything that makes you look plethoric ("go red in the face") for the first 14 days though.
Days 7-10
To be able to drive the law states that you must be able to safely perform an emergency stop.
It is also worth making sure you can turn your head to look back over your shoulder.
This might take 10-14 days.
Day 10
You can take all the dressings off.
You can get the wound wet in a bath or even a swimming pool assuming all the dressings are off and the wound is dry.
Day 14
Running, cycling and exercise classes should be ok. The more strenuous the activity the longer the rest time needed before resuming the activity.
As a general rule if it feels comfortable to do then it is OK to do it. If not comfortable, stop and try again in a couple of days.
Follow Up
Mr Kirkby-Bott always follows up thyroid and parathyroid cases. At this meeting we can:
Discuss the histology or diagnosis from the resected specimen.
Review any blood results taken to review surgery success.
Check on your thyroid function to ensure you are on the right dose of medication or review your thyroid function after a thyroid lobectomy. This blood test cannot be done less than 6 weeks after surgery.
Discuss any questions you have regarding your surgery, post-surgery recovery and anything else that will help you get the best outcome from your surgery.