Endocrine Surgery

Endocrine surgery is a subspecialty of General Surgery that treats endocrine disorders by removing part or all of a diseased gland.
Our Fellowship trained endocrine surgeon is a fully qualified surgeon with additional expertise in surgical problems of the thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal glands. Endocrine surgeons understand the disease processes and provide technical mastery and comprehensive care of surgical endocrine diseases of the neck and abdomen incorporating the most up to date technologies for the best patient outcomes.

What is endocrine surgery?

Endocrine surgery is the surgical treatment of endocrine diseases that affect glands in your endocrine system. The surgeries mostly focus on diseases that affect your thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands. Glands are organs that release hormones into your bloodstream. You may need endocrine surgery if a gland stops working correctly.

What are some common endocrine disorders treated with surgery?

Different conditions can affect the health of glands in your endocrine system. You may need endocrine surgery to treat conditions that affect your:

• Adrenal glands
  • Adrenal tumors.
  • Adrenocortical carcinoma.
  • Cushing’s syndrome.
  • Primary aldosteronism (Conn’s syndrome).
  • Pheochromocytoma.
  Parathyroid glands
  • Hyperparathyroidism.
  • Parathyroid adenomas.
  • Parathyroid cancer.
  Thyroid gland
  • Hyperthyroidism.
  • Goiter.
  • Graves’ disease.
  • Toxic (hyperfunctioning) thyroid nodules.
  • Thyroid nodules.
  • Thyroid cancer.
  • PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (Cowden syndrome).

Endocrine surgery types

The type of endocrine surgery to be performed depends on the patient’s health condition and the part of the endocrine system affected. Some endocrine surgeries include:
• Adrenalectomy – removal of the entire adrenal gland.
• Parathyroidectomy – removal of the entire parathyroid gland.
• Thyroidectomy – removal of the entire thyroid gland.
• Thyroid lobectomy – removal of one lobe of the thyroid gland.

What does your endocrine system do?

Glands in your endocrine system secrete hormones that your body uses for:
• Body growth and sexual development.
• Breathing.
• Metabolism.
• Movement.
• Pregnancy and reproduction.
• Sensory perception.

What are the benefits of endocrine surgery?

Endocrine surgery cures certain endocrine disorders. It can ease or stop symptoms. You’ll feel better and enjoy an improved quality of life.

Surgery to treat endocrine disorders can also lower your risk of other health problems, like:
• Arrhythmias, blood clots and strokes.
• Cardiovascular (heart) disease and heart failure.
• High blood pressure.
• Kidney stones.
• Osteoporosis.
• Type 2 diabetes

Additonal Resources:

AAES Endocrine Disease Patient Education Website

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. – thyca.org