Right/Left Thyroid Lobectomy/Total

This chapter describes the surgical procedure for right/left thyroid lobectomy/total thyroidectomy. The text includes an introduction that outlines the indications, risks, alternatives, essential steps needed, equipment, and variations in technique for the procedure in question. This is followed by a template operative dictation that provides the reader with an operative report, such as is found in a patient chart or electronic medical record. A description is provided of the following critical concepts for this procedure: developing subplatysmal flaps, exposing the thyroid gland, ligation of superior pole vessels, medial mobilization of each lobe, preservation of the recurrent laryngeal nerve, preservation of the parathyroid glands, and dissecting the thyroid free from the trachea.