Endocrine Surgery

Our general surgeons treat the body's hormone glands with surgery. Some operations remove a nodule for testing; others take out a whole gland or a tumour. Not every lump needs an operation, so part of the job is working out which ones do. Most people are referred here once a scan or blood test points to surgery.

What is endocrine surgery?

Endocrine surgery treats the body's hormone-producing glands, most of them in the neck and just above the kidneys. A surgeon might remove a thyroid nodule or goitre, an overactive parathyroid gland, or a tumour in an adrenal gland. Taking out a gland can change the hormones you make, so the surgeon also plans any hormone replacement and reviews you afterwards. Endocrinologists treat these glands with medicines and long-term follow-up, and refer on when an operation is needed.

Who is referred for endocrine surgery?

An endocrine surgeon isn't usually the first person you see. The trigger for a referral is often a lump in the thyroid, a blood test pointing to an overactive parathyroid, or a scan that shows a growth on an adrenal gland. Others are sent on after thyroid cancer is diagnosed.

Referrals usually come from a family doctor, an endocrinologist or an ENT specialist. A smaller number follow a strong family history of hormone-gland tumours, or a routine blood test that turned up a high calcium level. When a scan or biopsy raises the chance of cancer, the referral is usually seen sooner. In the UAE, seeing a surgeon normally follows a referral like this, and your endocrinologist and surgeon decide together whether an operation is the right step.

What to expect

At your first appointment, the surgeon reviews your history and examines your neck. They also look over any scans you've already had. For a thyroid or parathyroid problem, the usual next step is a neck ultrasound, with a fine-needle biopsy if one is needed. The result guides what happens next. Blood tests show how the gland is working, and an adrenal problem is usually looked at with a CT or MRI scan.

If surgery is needed, it means taking out part or all of a gland: half or all of the thyroid, an overactive parathyroid, or an adrenal gland by keyhole surgery. These operations are planned in advance, not done as emergencies. When a whole gland is removed, you may need hormone or calcium tablets, planned with your endocrinologist. Your surgeon explains the options and agrees the next step with you.

Endocrine surgery at Mediclinic

We offer endocrine surgery at our hospitals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Our surgeons operate on the thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands. Before thyroid surgery, an ultrasound is used to assess the thyroid gland. If a nodule is identified, a biopsy can be performed during the same visit, with the sample checked immediately to ensure it is adequate for accurate diagnosis. During thyroid surgery, the team monitors the nerves near the gland to help protect your voice. For some benign nodules, they can shrink the lump with heat rather than remove it. After a gland is removed, we plan any hormone or calcium replacement with your endocrinologist. Thyroid cancer cases are reviewed by a team from several specialities.