Later this week I’ll have surgery to remove a thyroid nodule, and I’ll be losing half of my thyroid. This surgery, while very common, carries a risk of damage to the recurrent laryngeal nerve (the thyroid hugs your trachea below your larynx), which can cause people to experience hoarseness or changes to their vocal quality. I’m worried, but chances are I’ll be fine. (My fingers and toes are all crossed.)
I’d love to hear about it if you have any experience with thyroid surgery (or know someone who has), especially you voice actors.
–What did you do afterward to get your voice back in shape?
–How long did it take?
–Any advice?
I would love to collect a list of resources for myself and anyone else going through this, so please let me know about anything that worked for you. Thanks for your help!
Hi Alexis!
I did not have thyroid surgery but something a bit different that impacted my voice in ways that were not predicted.
Disc replacement in my neck required a large incision through the front of my neck – softer tissue – near the voice box in order to get in, remove the old degenerated disc, and replace it with a new one. They were extra careful to not damage the vocal folds during intubation and did a tremendous job with the camera fitted to it.
The unintended side effect was that the incision severed several of the nerves that control tension in one side of the vocal folds. I came out of surgery with a range of bass that I’ve never had in my life and, unfortunately, that was it. I saw speech and singing therapists after the fact and they said there was literally nothing that could be done except to keep trying to keep what little voice and range I had in shape and wait for the nerve endings to reform.
It took two years. I returned to about 90% of my former range and that is where it will stay.
Might not be the answer you’re looking for, but that was my experience from back then.
Best of all the possible luck to you and skill to the surgeons! I will be praying for you.
-= george =-
Wow, thank you George for sharing that. It sounds like you went through a lot. I wouldn’t have guessed that surgery on discs in the neck would have affected so much in the front of your throat, that’s a lot to handle. But I’m so glad to hear that after some time you regained 90% of your range. It’s good for me to have in mind that recovery may take a while and that I must have patience. Thanks for sharing that, I really appreciate it. And thanks for your prayers and support!!
Hey Alexis!
I wanted to follow-up and find out how you’ve been doing in the aftermath of the surgery. How are you feeling? How is your voice? I do hope everything is going ok in your neck of the woods!
Happiest of holidays!
-= george =-
Hi George!
Thanks so much for checking up on me! Things are going well, thanks. The first week post-surgery was rough, a lot of soreness around the incision and whenever I used my neck muscles (which turns out, is pretty much constantly in everyday movements!) You probably know what that’s like based on your experiences, too. I was also very tired. But during the second week I was able to get a little closer back to normal. I was back to taking the kids to and from school and doing errands/last minute holiday shopping. I noticed that I tended to get tired, though, so I think it’s just a matter of slowly getting my energy back and not pushing things too hard. My voice is pretty much the same, which was a relief right away. I felt like I sounded like myself, even immediately after surgery when my throat was still sore from the breathing tube. I am very thankful for that!
I hope that you and your family are enjoying the holiday season! Happy New Year and best wishes for 2023!
Alexis