What additional tests are required before a patient has thyroid surgery?

Any patient who is planning to have thyroid surgery should undergo an examination that checks the function of the vocal cords. This helps to determine whether there is any dysfunction prior to surgery that may change the approach to planning the operation. The movement of the vocal cords is usually evaluated with a procedure called laryngoscopy.

If there is any suspicion that thyroid cancer may have spread beyond the thyroid gland, it may be necessary to perform additional radiographic imaging studies of the neck before proceeding with thyroid surgery. This may help to determine whether a more extensive operation called neck dissection will be required to explore the lymph nodes and other structures in the neck. Additional imaging is usually completed with one or more radiographic studies that may include a neck CT scan, a neck MRI scan, or a neck ultrasound. If a neck CT scan is done prior to thyroid surgery, it is important to make sure that it is a noncontrast study, performed without the administration of intravenous contrast.

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