Research overview: surgical thyroidectomy for hyperthyroidism

Surgical removal of affected thyroid tissue (thyroidectomy) can cure feline hyperthyroidism and was historically a common definitive treatment before radioiodine became widely available. Because the disease is frequently bilateral, surgery often involves both lobes, raising the risk of inadvertently damaging the adjacent parathyroid glands and causing hypocalcemia, which requires careful surgical technique and postoperative monitoring. This overview compiles the surgical literature rather than one source, describing the indications and techniques, why parathyroid preservation is the central technical challenge, and how anesthetic risk in hyperthyroid cats is managed by first stabilizing thyroid status. It matters because thyroidectomy remains a curative option, especially where radioiodine is unavailable, illustrating the trade-offs among the definitive treatments for this common endocrine disease.