I see my doc tomorrow and I know I have Graves disease and have for the last 40 years. I have been taking tapazole for the last 10 years and off and on before that. I go into remission and then out. My TSH is now .38 and my doc has been waiting since taking me off the meds for me to be in hyperactive thyroid for RAI. I am wondering if surgery would be better because it would be done and over with and not several months in process while destroying bone further etc. I had cervical spine fusion a year ago and so I am wondering if that would compromise and make it harder to have the surgery. Has anyone had a cervical spine fusion done and then had a thyroidectomy? Thanks!

Hello - I'm not familiar with how this issue might affect a thyroidectomy, but hopefully, the surgeon that you consult with will be able to give you some guidance. Also, this page is a nice resource from the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons that can help answer more general questions on surgery.

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http://endocrinediseases.org/ [endocrinediseases.org]

Take care – and keep us posted!