What is a Thyroid Gland?

 

The thyroid is a small gland, shaped like a butterfly, which sits in front of your windpipe in your neck. 

What does a Thyroid Gland do?

What can go wrong that might require an operation? Overactive thyroid (Thyrotoxicosis)

What can go wrong that might require an operation? Goitre

What can go wrong that might require an operation? Thyroid tumours

Types of Thyroid Gland operations

Preparation for Thyroid surgery

The Thyroid operation itself

After Thyroid surgery

At home after Thyroid surgery

Thyroid surgery follow up

If you think it would be helpful and if you wish to meet a burns survivor then please discuss this option with a member of the burns team.

There are a number of outside agencies that can offer support following your burn injury. Please contact a member of the burns team if you wish to discuss the additional support available.

Dan’s fund for burns
Dan’s fund for Burns is a national charity offering practical help to burns survivors in the UK. The charity identifies those most in need of help and provides it in a swift and practical way.

Changing Faces
Changing Faces is a charity for people and families who are living with conditions, marks or scars that affect their appearance.

Katie Piper Foundation
The Katie Piper Foundation aims to:

• Progress intensive rehabilitation and scar management for burns Survivors
• Provide information on and access to non-surgical treatments for burns and scars
• Campaign for consistent clinical care
• Develop a support network for people living with burns and scars
• We help people with burns and scars to reconnect with their lives and their communities.

The Lee Spark NF Foundation Necrotising Fasciitis support and education Telephone: 01254 878701
The mission of The Lee Spark NF Foundation is to help those whose lives have been affected by Necrotising Fasciitis and other severe streptococcal infections.

The Fire Fighters Charity Help line telephone: 0800 389 8820 Monday-Friday 9am to 5pm.
The Fire Fighters Charity has a wealth of experience in providing helpline services on a wide range of issues, providing sign-posting to other relevant benefits that might be available to you, or organisations that may be able to provide assistance.

Skin Camouflage

Dan’s fund for Burns - Adult Burns Support UK
This website is designed to be a support resource for Adult Burns Survivors as well as family, friends and carers in the UK. It covers many aspects of after burn care/support including Emotional Wellbeing, Rehabilitation, Appearance and Research, Burn Survivor stories and will signpost users to useful links and notices as to what is available in their area and how to access this.

Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI)
A registered charity based in the UK operating as a centre of excellence supporting and working hand in hand with Acid Survivors Foundations (ASFs) in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Uganda and Pakistan.

Burns Outpatient follow up Clinic is situated in the main Atrium at Gate 24, Sub wait area rooms 1 to 20, Level 1, Brunel building.

Check in is located as you enter the Atrium, from the main entracne, on the right hand side.

You are required to scan the bar code on your letter which automatically tells the clinic that you have arrived. Please take a seat in the waiting area outside the Sub wait area and watch the screen for your name to appear. Once your name has appeared make your way to the location shown on the screen.

Burns clinic offers appointments on a Tuesday and Thursday afternoon.

The clinic is generally for patients who are almost healed or having long term follow up with the burns service.

The clinic offers a:

• facility for minor dressing changes
• review by a Burns Consultant or Registrar
• review by the Scar Management Service if required
• review by the Physiotherapist or Burns Specialist Nurse if required.

It is likely that during your consultation a Physiotherapist and/or Specialist nurse will be present.

Updated on 20/10/21

Occasionally, a consultant caring for a baby or child with particular signs or symptoms may ask us to retrieve his or her newborn blood spot sample to arrange for extra tests to be done (e.g. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) virology, or an Acylcarnitine profile).

We will only release a sample once we have received written consent from the parents of the child, that they understand why the test has been suggested and have agreed to card retrieval and testing.

There will be a small charge to retrieve samples collected more than 12 months ago. Samples are stored for 5 years in accordance with the code of practice (published 1 January 2018) link below.

Please include a consultant letter outlining the reason for the request and including all demographic data for the child. We will also require an address for invoicing when returning the consent form:

[attachments]

Code of Practice for the Retention and Storage of Residual Newborn Blood Spots.

Reviewed on 20/10/21

It is important to inform us if there is a known family history of any of the diseases we currently screen for, including results of any prenatal testing. This avoids unnecessary duplication of follow-up or diagnostic testing, and helps avoid any confusion arising from screening results which might cause concern for the family. Please contact the laboratory with the mothers details and expected due date.

Inherited Metabolic Diseases (IMDs)

A new sibling born to the same parents when an index case with PKU, MCADD, MSUD, IVA, GA1 or HCU has already been identified has a 1 in 4 risk of having the same disorder. In these circumstances it is good practice to test earlier than the 5-8 day timeframe for newborn screening to avoid delays in diagnosis and to allay parental anxiety. However, this does not remove the need for routine screening and it is essential that the routine blood spot collection is undertaken between 5 and 8 days to screen for the other conditions tested for as part of the newborn blood spot programme.

The decision about when to test depends upon the conditions suspected; it is most pressing for disorders such as MSUD, MCADD and IVA which can potentially have an early neonatal presentation and may be at risk.

When to test and samples taken

(Write details on request/bloodspot card e.g. Family history of PKU, and courier to the laboratory using urgent/next day delivery)

Resources for IMDs

• Management guidelines which include prospective management for a baby at risk of an IMD at birth are available: BIMDG IMD Guidelines.
• 'MCADD: the importance of taking a family history.'
• BIMDG MCADD Clinical and Dietetic Management Guidelines.
• 'Keeping newborn babies with a family history of MCADD safe in the first hours and days of life', NPSA Alert Oct 2011

Sickle Cell Diseases (SCD)

The Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia screening programme is the world's first linked screening programme. Positive antenatal results are communicated to us by midwives and screening team personnel, using an alert form (available from local screening coordinators). This means we are prepared for any babies 'at risk' of Sickle Cell Disease and can tailor advice with parental history.

Please note, the CF screening programme is designed to detect babies who have cystic fibrosis and will not identify all CF carriers.

Reviewed on 20/10/21

Information for Healthcare Professionals

If babies are born before 32 weeks gestation or are admitted to a hospital specialist unit for other reasons, extra blood spot samples may be required to carry out the newborn screening tests. 

To ensure preterm infants are appropriately screened for CHT, all babies born at less than 32 weeks (less than or equal to 31 weeks + 6 days) should be offered a preterm repeat test at 28 days of age or discharge home, whichever is the sooner.

Babies less than 5 days of age should have a single circle bloodspot sample taken on admission/prior to blood transfusion to screen for SCD. The bloodspot card should be marked 'Pre-transfusion'.

Detailed instructions regarding sample collection from babies in specialist units can be found on pages 23-26 of 'Guidelines for Newborn Bloodspot Sampling'.

Access to Results

Designated clinicians will be informed immediately of any 'Suspected' results.

Certain healthcare professionals may access results via the Failsafe IT solution. If you are concerned that a baby has missed screening or that a sample has not arrived in the laboratory, please telephone or email us. Samples usually take several days to reach us in the post, although this is faster if a courier is used. One working day after they have been entered on our computer system they will appear on the failsafe shown as 'pending', these samples are undergoing analysis.

Please use the NHS number to search for babies, checking that the address shown matches your records as many babies have similar names, very similar dates of birth and surnames often change in the first few weeks of life.

The laboratory provides specialist services for allergy, autoimmunity and humoral immunodeficiency investigations.

Allergy Investigations
Testing for mixed and specific allergens is offered by the laboratory. Occasionally testing to very unusual allergens will be referred to a National Centre. Clinical history is paramount for allergy investigations to ensure that the correct investigations are performed.

Requests  for investigations of suspected anaesthetic anaphylaxis must include full details of the clinical event including anaesthetic type and the time post event that the sample was taken.

Autoimmunity Investigations
A comprehensive range of autoimmune investigations are provided including ANCA screening and typing, Anti Nuclear Antibody and Extractable Nuclear Antigen typing, Auto-immune liver disease, Anti GBM, ACHR, rheumatoid factor and CCP.

Immunochemistry and Specialist Protein Chemistry
A comprehensive range of Immunochemistry investigations are provided by the department. These include immunoglobulins, IgG subsets, C3/C4, C1 inhibitor, C3 nephritic factor, functional complement studies, serum/urine electrophoresis, paraproteins, and cryoglobulins.

Cellular Immunodeficiency investigations are provided by the Immunophenotyping Laboratory.

Last updated 01/02/2018

• Biochemistry in Primary Care
• Clinical Updates
• General Biochemistry
• Endocrine investigations
• Toxicology and TDM
• Inherited Metabolic Disease

Patient details should be telephoned through to the GP Support Team (GPST) on 0117 2449283 or to the Operations Centre on 0117 4140700. Depending on the time of day the referral is being made.

What to expect when the person you care for is ready to come home

We know how important it is for the patients we work with to be in hospital for as little time as possible.

This helps to reduce the chance of secondary infection while allowing them to return to a familiar environment and complete any recovery they may need. 

Throughout a patient’s treatment they have an assessment of their needs, for instance what help they may need with washing, dressing and eating food. If it is clear they require support in other areas a physiotherapist or occupational therapist may be asked to assess the patient. These assessments will then form a picture of what (if any) support the patient may need when they go home. 

If the patient has not previously had support from care workers, a social worker will be asked to review their case, develop and request a care package. If the patient has previously had a care package, this may continue unchanged or may be altered depending on the patient’s level of need. The nurse in charge will be able to advise on this. There may be a cost involved in providing a care package to the person you care for and the social worker will speak with you about this.

We understand the importance of carer involvement throughout this time so we will endeavour to include carers throughout the assessments detailed above and in the development of the final care package. 

Carers are able to request involvement in any assessments on the ward and to be included in any final care package.  If you no longer feel able to care, or feel you are no longer able to care as much, it is important you tell the nursing staff or social worker involved.

If you would like to access support during this time please contact one of the carers liaison workers.