Thyroid Resources Community Group
We are sharing here the results of our research. Much of it is evidence-based.
The short answer is: No.
The long answer is a bit more complicated, but worth examining:
Alot of doctors - especially those who take out 1/2 of a thyroid - HOPE that the other 1/2 will compensate and often state that 35% of cases do compensate, but they don't specify in WHAT cases. Regeneration rarely happens anyway, but it happens even less (if at all) in Hashimoto's patients. (more on that below)
Thyroid tissue doesn't normally regenerate to the level that it will compensate for the missing tissue. It doesn't simply "grow back" as it was before. SOME tissue may come back, but rarely (and I mean extremely rarely) does it "come back" enough to provide adequate hormones. Does it happen? Yes, but in very rare cases and with only certain types of goiters (hyper involutions and adenomas in HYPER thyroid patients ONLY). If you were hypothyroid because of Hashimoto's you will have very little tissue regenerate if any at all. And, most patients with Hashimoto's (the most common form of hypothyroidism that causes goiters) will actually produce less hormone in the tissue that remains post surgery. So, I wouldn't count on "regeneration".
Here's a very wordy article that states just that:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1802984/pdf/annsurg01433-0017.pdf
Excerpt:
"The patients with Stroma Lymphatosa (hashimotos disease) not only failed to show regeneration (post operation) but actually showed a tendency to store less iodine (indication of thyroid function test) as they were followed."
In other words: It's extremely unusual for hypothyroid patients (Hashimoto's) to "regenerate" any tissue whatsoever, and they can often have tissue that continues to die because it is an auto-immune disease - so overall thyroid function decreases post operation and will most likely continue to decrease over time.
PS It's worth noting that goiters in Hashimoto's patients can be reduced in size or eliminated in many cases with the use of thyroid hormones.
More on the operation itself and aftercare:
http://www.healthline.com/health/thyroid-gland-removal
The long answer is a bit more complicated, but worth examining:
Alot of doctors - especially those who take out 1/2 of a thyroid - HOPE that the other 1/2 will compensate and often state that 35% of cases do compensate, but they don't specify in WHAT cases. Regeneration rarely happens anyway, but it happens even less (if at all) in Hashimoto's patients. (more on that below)
Thyroid tissue doesn't normally regenerate to the level that it will compensate for the missing tissue. It doesn't simply "grow back" as it was before. SOME tissue may come back, but rarely (and I mean extremely rarely) does it "come back" enough to provide adequate hormones. Does it happen? Yes, but in very rare cases and with only certain types of goiters (hyper involutions and adenomas in HYPER thyroid patients ONLY). If you were hypothyroid because of Hashimoto's you will have very little tissue regenerate if any at all. And, most patients with Hashimoto's (the most common form of hypothyroidism that causes goiters) will actually produce less hormone in the tissue that remains post surgery. So, I wouldn't count on "regeneration".
Here's a very wordy article that states just that:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1802984/pdf/annsurg01433-0017.pdf
Excerpt:
"The patients with Stroma Lymphatosa (hashimotos disease) not only failed to show regeneration (post operation) but actually showed a tendency to store less iodine (indication of thyroid function test) as they were followed."
In other words: It's extremely unusual for hypothyroid patients (Hashimoto's) to "regenerate" any tissue whatsoever, and they can often have tissue that continues to die because it is an auto-immune disease - so overall thyroid function decreases post operation and will most likely continue to decrease over time.
PS It's worth noting that goiters in Hashimoto's patients can be reduced in size or eliminated in many cases with the use of thyroid hormones.
More on the operation itself and aftercare:
http://www.healthline.com/health/thyroid-gland-removal
Join the Conversation