Thyroid Surgery Incision & Scar
We frequently hear from patients who are worried about the incision and scar from their thyroid surgery, and we get it. Our hope is that this page will explain our process and put your mind at ease when it comes to the incision and scar. Our surgeons are the most experienced thyroid surgeons in the world, and they perform only thyroid surgery. They will do their best to ensure a small and well-placed incision that will fade beautifully.
Thyroid Cancer is the most quickly increasing cancer diagnosis in the United States and it affects women nearly three times as often as men.
The only cure for thyroid cancer is thyroid surgery to remove the tumor and any cancerous cells. While patients understand this and know that surgery is the recommended treatment plan, they are often hung up on the incision and how the scar will heal. They worry that a very large incision will be made and they worry about a noticeable and unsightly scar in the center of their neck.
At the Clayman Thyroid Center (operating at the Hospital for Endocine Surgery), our surgeons perform only thyroid surgery. They are extremely experienced in surgery in this area of the body and are highly skilled at creating incisions that promote beautiful scar healing over time.
Thyroid surgery is as much an art as it is a science, with the incision being a huge part of that. If you have thyroid surgery at our center, it is frequently minimally invasive with an incision about one inch in length. Further, our surgeons do their best to "hide" the incision in the natural lines and shadows of your neck. Dr. Roy created the below video to walk you through her artful incisions and show you actual patient progression and scar healing.
In the below video, Dr. Roy shows photos from one day after surgery and some check-up photos from 8 months after surgery. The scar healing progession is beautiful! Rest assured that even if a larger incision is necessary to remove a large goiter, the principle remains the same. The incision is designed to be placed in the shadows of your collarbone that will fade into a small, hardly noticeable line. A plastic surgery closure will be used and it will heal wonderfully.
Your surgeon will also teach you how to care for your incision postoperatively to help the incision line fade away nicely.
Check out Dr. Roy's YouTube Channel
Dr. Roy posts videos of her most interesting cases every week — subscribe to her channel to stay up to date!
Following Dr. Roy on YouTube is also a great way to advocate for yourself if you do not have access to her program and expertise locally. She posts content about how to check your own neck for thyroid cancer, why it's important to seek an expert surgeon, and more.