When doctors remove the entire thyroid gland, doing extra steps like cleaning out nearby lymph nodes or reinserting the parathyroid glands doesn’t seem to make low calcium levels after surgery any more likely.

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Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

40

Community contributions welcome

40

Assessment of the morbidity and complications of total thyroidectomy.

Cross-Sectional Study

Human

2002 Apr

The study looked at whether removing lymph nodes or reimplanting parathyroid glands during thyroid surgery makes low calcium more likely after surgery — and found it doesn’t. So, these extra steps don’t seem to hurt parathyroid function.

Contradicting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Assessment of the morbidity and complications of total thyroidectomy.

Score: 40

DOI: 10.1001/archotol.128.4.389

Similar Assertions

After having your thyroid removed, about 6 out of 100 people end up with low calcium levels in their blood — this is the most common problem right after surgery. Younger people are more likely to have this issue than older people, which might mean their bodies take longer to recover after the surgery.

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