Endocrine Surgery

Palm Beach Health Network provides specialized endocrine surgical care. 

The endocrine system is a group of glands that make hormones that are important for vital body functions.  The endocrine system includes the thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands.

Thyroid Surgery

Thyroid Surgery is used to treat several conditions affecting the thyroid gland, a small, butterfly shaped gland in your throat that produces hormones that regulate many important bodily functions, including metabolism, brain development, heart function, digestion and muscular functionality. There are several conditions that can require thyroid surgery, including Thyroid Cancer, Thyroid Nodules, Hyperthyroidism, Graves’ disease and Goiter. When treating these issues, the surgeon may remove all (Total Thyroidectomy) or part of the thyroid (Lobectomy). The general rule for deciding how much of the thyroid to remove depends on whether biopsy results indicate cancer prior to surgery. When cancer is indicated, the surgeon generally removes the entire gland. If the diagnosis is not clear, half of the thyroid may be removed in what is known as a lobectomy. However, it is only possible to confirm a benign/malignant diagnosis after the gland is removed and tested. If a lobectomy is done and cancer is diagnosed, a second surgery to remove the rest may be indicated. Whether undergoing a Total Thyroidectomy or a Thyroid Lobectomy, the surgery itself is minimally invasive and performed through the smallest possible incisions in the front of the neck to limit scarring

Parathyroid Surgery

The human body contains four small parathyroid glands, each the size of a grain of rice. They are located behind the thyroid, and their function is to regulate the body’s calcium levels, the most abundant mineral in the human body. Parathyroid Surgeries are performed to treat conditions that include correcting primary hyperparathyroidism and parathyroid cancer. Prior to surgery, preoperative imaging is done to identify the probable tumor. Then, surgeons use minimally invasive surgical techniques to operate using small incisions that result in less pain and reduced scarring.

Adrenal Surgery

Adrenal glands are part of the endocrine system and are small triangular shaped glands located above each kidney that produce hormones. Adrenal surgery is done to remove large or abnormally hyper-functional adrenal masses. This surgery can be done in two ways, either with a laparoscopic /robotic surgery or open surgery. This surgery is performed for tumors within the adrenal gland that produce too much hormone and cause systemic symptom, for adrenal cancer or for nonfunctional tumors within the adrenal gland that meet certain criteria on imaging studies.