Removing a 600 gram goiter that 'haunted' the patient for 35 years

On July 17, Vinh Long General Hospital announced that its doctors had successfully performed surgery to remove a 600-gram thyroid tumor that had been "haunting" a woman for 35 years, causing the patient to often have difficulty breathing.

Giant goiter removed from female patient

Previously, patient LTĐ (61 years old, residing in Tra On District, Vinh Long) came to Vinh Long General Hospital for examination because of a very large goiter in the front of the neck. This goiter has appeared for more than 35 years, often causing difficulty breathing.

Through examination, the doctor diagnosed a large grade III goiter, causing neck deformity, compressing the trachea, causing difficulty breathing. Through consultation and evaluation, the doctor decided to remove the patient's entire thyroid gland.

The surgery lasted 3 hours. The doctors completely removed the thyroid tumor weighing 600 grams, measuring 10 x 5 cm. One day after the surgery, the patient could speak clearly, his hands were not numb, and the surgical wound was dry.

The patient was discharged after 7 days of treatment.

Dr. Tran Van Nhieu, Head of the General Surgery Department of Vinh Long General Hospital, the main surgeon, said that the patient with LTĐ was a special case with a large tumor compressing the neck area, affecting the function of the esophagus, trachea, larynx, and nerves. In addition, the tumor was too large, had existed for many years, and had many blood vessels proliferating, making the surgery extremely difficult.

According to Dr. Nhieu, thyroid surgery is very difficult because normally, the recurrent laryngeal nerve is very small and lies close to the thyroid gland, controlling pronunciation and voice. Thyroid surgery must be very careful to avoid damaging this nerve. In particular, in patients with LTĐ, the large goiter presses on the trachea, making it difficult to find the recurrent laryngeal nerve, requiring the surgeon to have good expertise and a lot of experience in thyroid surgery to perform.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/boc-tach-buou-giap-nang-600-gram-deo-bam-benh-nhan-suot-35-nam-18524071708594577.htm