In simple words: This procedure removes the entire thyroid gland, including any part that extends into the upper chest, through an incision in the neck. The surgeon is careful to avoid important nerves and preserve the nearby parathyroid glands.

This procedure involves the surgical removal of the entire thyroid gland, including any extension of the gland that goes into the chest beneath the sternum (breastbone), through an incision made in the neck. The surgery is performed through a horizontal incision in the lower front of the neck, below the voice box. The skin and underlying muscles are carefully separated to expose the thyroid gland. The blood vessels supplying the thyroid are tied off and cut, taking special care to avoid the recurrent laryngeal nerve that controls the vocal cords. The thyroid gland is then carefully separated from the surrounding tissues and removed. If a portion of the thyroid extends into the chest (substernal), the surgeon carefully dissects and extracts it through the neck incision. The parathyroid glands, crucial for calcium regulation, are preserved whenever possible. Finally, the muscles and skin are closed in layers.

Example 1: A patient with a large goiter compressing the trachea, causing difficulty breathing, undergoes this procedure to remove the goiter and alleviate the compression., A patient with thyroid cancer limited to the thyroid gland but with a portion extending into the chest undergoes this surgery to completely remove the cancerous thyroid tissue., A patient with Grave's disease, a form of hyperthyroidism not responding to medication, requires surgery. The thyroid gland, including a small substernal extension, is removed using a cervical approach.

Documentation should include the diagnosis necessitating thyroidectomy (e.g., goiter, cancer, hyperthyroidism), presence and extent of substernal thyroid extension, operative details (cervical approach), any complications encountered, and the final pathology report.