# Need revision surgery after thyroidectomy



## crimebuff

Went for 10 month recheck with surgeon...I have been unhappy with how my neck looked and to my surprise, he agreed with me.the scar looks like the sewing of the stitches were pulled too tightly..there are some vertical looking lines and crepey skin above and below the scar. That's what I noticed. Then the surgeon added that the middle of the neck is concave and lo and behold there's like an empty space in the middle of my neck. When I keep my head down, everything looks fine. He apologized and said he didn't understand what happened. Lovely! He referred me to a facial deconstructionist plastic surgeon... First he said I would be responsible for the cost of the revision, then said he put in a code that would be reimbursable .And this was a director of the top cancer hospital in Miami! Anyone else have these kind of problems after surgery?


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## crimebuff

I mean reconstruction of course.


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## Octavia

Prior to my second surgery, I shared a concern about my scar. My surgeon said that he could send me to a scar revision plastic surgeon if needed. But my scar ended up looking fine.


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## CherylAnnOC

I had a total thyroidectomy three weeks ago, 11/21/2017. After two weeks, the surgeon removed the Steristrips on the incision. The incision looked good. But in a few days, I noticed that the skin above and below the incision is very crepey.

Has anyone else had crepey skin around your thyroidectomy incision? Did it improve on it's own over time? Thanks!

- Cheryl


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## joplin1975

Have you been doing any kind of scar massage?


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## CherylAnnOC

Only massaging for a minute when I apply Mederma in the morning and evening. Do you know how much massage is recommended? Thank you!


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## joplin1975

The basic rule is as much as you can tolerate. I mean, don't beat yourself up, but firm, consistent pressure for a good 2-4 minutes at least two but preferably three or four times a day is recommended.

Three weeks is crazy early. Try regular massage with mederma or Vit e oil. I'd be waiting at least a year before I asked about revision surgery.


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## Lovlkn

Post surgery I went to my massage therapist and she massaged the scar deep and firm to break us any adhesion's that had formed. Sounds like you may have adhesion's that need to be broken up. I would suggest that prior to having a 2nd surgery.


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## jenny v

Vitamin E oil is a good recommendation when you do massage the area. If the incision is totally healed, meaning no scabs or raw areas, you should be good to massage it as much as you can tolerate.


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## CherylAnnOC

Thank you, everyone, for your wonderful advice and information.

Mederma and Anthelios Mineral sunscreen were severely irritating. Went back to gently applying my old Coppertone SPF 30 before leaving the house. Starting using vitamin E oil to massage twice a day. The incision is looking much better!

The surgeon removed some skin because I'm very slim, and my thyroid was so very large. It's only been three weeks since the thyroidectomy. I'm hoping the crepiness will get better on it's own.

The incision seems too sensitive to start Silagen sheeting. I will see my plastic surgeon in a few weeks to find out if Silagen is OK.

Feeling pretty good on Synthroid 88.

- Cheryl


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## CherylAnnOC

My incision is looking great now. Using Silagen sheeting. But I started getting substantial fatigue three weeks ago and seem to be gaining weight more easily. Endocrinologist added 5 mcg of Cytomel to the 88 mcg of Synthroid. Haven't started Cytomel yet, will take first dose with Synthroid in a few hours.

- Cheryl


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## Lovlkn

Be sure to request FT- 4 and FT-3 labs when they run them. That will give you the best chance of dialing in your dose.


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## CherylAnnOC

Thank you. My THS is 8.16. But T3 and T4 test within normal. Endo wants THS at 1.0. Will test again in six weeks.

- Cheryl


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## WhatHappened

Cheryl, keep track of your labs... and make sure they are Free T4 and Free T3. And normal is different for everyone and tracking your labs will help associate dosages, and results, and how you felt. on my lab ranges, 0.78 is normal, and some doctors will tell you you are fine, but it's the basement of normal and if you don't feel normal, you will need to advocate for yourself....


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