Endocrine surgeries
It is a subspecialty of surgery concerned with specific glands in the human body, namely the thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands and many others. The human body contains a large number of glands of different types and places, but all of them share in their production of many useful substances that are transmitted in the body through channels Especially, and now we are talking about two of the most important types of glands in the human body, the thyroid and parathyroid glands, and how to treat them surgically.
Thyroid Gland
1-Thyroid tumors treatment and eradication
The thyroid gland is located in the front of the neck, resembles a butterfly, and plays many important roles for the human body, such as controlling blood pressure, maintaining body temperature, and weight, as the hormones secreted by the thyroid gland work to regulate the digestive process, and control Heart rate, muscle function, bone health, and brain development.
The thyroid gland sometimes suffers from many problems, including benign or malignant tumors, hyperthyroidism, and the failure of other drug treatments; There is an urgent need for surgical intervention to remove the thyroid gland.
But before surgery, the doctor will ask the patient to perform several tests, such as a thyroid function test, a comprehensive blood test and ultrasound, and in the case of tumors, he will ask for a biopsy to be analyzed. The tests required by the doctor vary according to the patient’s condition. The doctor also advises to stop some medications and fast 8 hours before the surgery.
Thyroidectomy surgery takes about two hours and is performed through the following steps:
- Subject the patient to general anesthesia.
- The neck and chest area is sterilized.
- Then the surgeon makes an incision in the lower front part of the neck.
- He then removes the thyroid gland along with the blood vessels that supply it with blood.
Total thyroidectomy is done with cases of tumors, as for cases of hyperthyroidism; With it, part of it is removed, then the surgeon closes the incision, and then a displaced tube is usually placed; To get rid of excess fluid, it is disposed of several days after surgery.
After thyroidectomy, the patient needs supplementary treatment that contains thyroid hormone, and may also need to receive complementary chemotherapy; In cases of cancer, the doctor is responsible for determining this; Depending on how far the tumor has spread.
Parathyroid Gland
2-Treatment and eradication of parathyroid gland tumors
The parathyroid gland is one of the types of endocrine glands in the body and is located in the neck area next to the thyroid gland, and it is made up of 4 very small oval-shaped glands, and its importance lies in regulating the levels of some minerals in the blood, such as calcium, phosphorous and magnesium and thus plays a prominent role in building and growing bones Properly, this is done through the secretion of the parathyroid hormone, whose most important function is to maintain normal calcium levels in the blood; By stimulating 3 basic mechanisms, each one works on a specific organ as follows:
- Intestines: by converting inactive vitamin D into the active form called calcitriol, which helps absorb calcium from food and send it into the bloodstream.
- Kidneys: The hormone prevents calcium from being excreted in the urine and returns it to the bloodstream.
- Bones: It withdraws calcium and phosphorous stored in the bones and sends these elements to the blood; If their blood levels are low.
When is the parathyroid gland removed surgery resorted to?
There are cases in which the parathyroid glands turn into benign or malignant tumors, which causes a disturbance in the secretion of parathyroid hormone and results in complications in calcium levels in the blood, or an enlargement of one of the parathyroid glands, so the best solution is to eradicate it.
There are many ways to perform parathyroidectomy surgery that the doctor will discuss with the case, including the following:
- Minimally invasive excision, through which the patient is given a small dose of radioactive material to follow the target gland, then a small incision is made in the neck, not exceeding 5 cm; To remove the gland, this process takes place within one hour.
- Adenectomy using a camera, the doctor makes two incisions in the neck, one for the excision tools and the other to insert the camera that the doctor uses to identify the target gland via live video.
Endoscopic adenectomy, this method is very similar to the method of using a camera, and the doctor makes several small incisions in the front of the neck and one incision above the upper part of the collarbone.