How To Treat Graves' Disease

Thyroid Surgery

A Graves' disease patient who has attempted and exhausted all other treatments may elect to have thyroid surgery to treat their disease. The only surgical procedure available to treat Graves' disease is thyroid gland removal surgery. Most patients who end up using thyroid removal surgery to treat their Graves' disease are affected by large-sized goiters in the gland or have a severe allergy or side effects from anti-thyroid medications. An individual's thyroid levels must be brought down into normal range with medication or other methods before having thyroid removal surgery to avoid a thyroid storm, which can occur when a hyperthyroidism patient goes under general anesthesia. Thyroid surgery is the last option for the treatment of Graves' disease because there is no way to avoid the condition of hypothyroidism following the removal of the thyroid gland. Hypothyroidism caused by the removal of the thyroid gland requires medication for the rest of the patient's life to replace the hormones a healthy thyroid gland should make.

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