Second Surgery *AFTER* Thyroid Removal And Radiation?
TL;DR: Had a total thyroidectomy for PTC in Nov 2025, followed by RAI. Post-RAI scans showed good uptake, but also revealed additional lymph nodes that hadn’t been seen before. Radiology report suggested routine follow-up in one year, so I thought treatment had gone as expected. However, my endocrinologist now wants me to go back for a second surgery because he believes too much thyroid tissue may have been left behind. Feeling confused because the radiology report sounded reassuring to me. Has anyone else needed another surgery after thyroid removal + RAI?
Longer: Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone has been in the same boat and trying to understand the 'why' better.
I had my thyroid completely removed in November 2025, after a PTC diagnosis. After recovery, my endo referred me for a round of RAI. But before sending me to nuclear medicine, he ordered a neck ultrasound (I believe standard procedure for any patient). He was initially suspicious that the ultrasound was still showing too much tissue left over by the surgeon. He then ordered a CT with contrast, which (to my understanding) came back inconclusive as being either scar tissue and/or actual thyroid tissue left over. He decided to refer me to nuclear med anyway, and we went through with one round of RAI.
It's now been 6 weeks post RAI. The report from nuclear medicine after all my scans indicated good uptake, but did show that there were additional affected lymph nodes that were taking up the RAI that had not been detected on my initial scans. The radiologist's report indicated that 'recommended next steps' were a follow up scan in one year.
So, I'm thinking, 'great! All went according to plan, I just need a follow up to get the final all clear in one year's time....' However, after meeting with my endo, he's now referring me back to my original surgeon for another surgery. Endo seems to believe that the radiology report is confirming his suspicion that there was still too much tissue left over, and he wants the surgeon to make another attempt at manually removing more of it. Again, I'm just terribly confused because, per my layman's reading of the report, the radiologist seems to be happy with my results....??
Just wondering if anyone had been in the same position and could share advice/experiences?
Thank you in advance to you all!