Risks associated with a thyroidectomy include those of surgery (such as bleeding or infection) or anesthesia (reaction to medication, breathing problems).

Other potential side effects or complications associated with thyroid surgery include:

• Swelling or bleeding at the wound site, causing breathing problems
  
  
• Temporary or permanent hoarseness from damage to the recurrent laryngeal nerve
  
  
• Damage to the parathyroid glands (small glands near the thyroid that help regulate calcium levels)
  
  
• Low levels of calcium in the blood (hypocalcemia)
  
  
• Inadequate thyroid function (hypothyroidism)
  
  
• Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing)
  

Complications are more likely in the following circumstances:

• Cancer has spread into the lymph nodes
  
  
• Cancer requires second thyroid surgery
  
  
• Patients have goiters that extend beneath the collarbone