For children and young adults with thyroid conditions that need surgical treatment, the Pediatric General Surgery team at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary care.

Why Choose Johns Hopkins All Children’s

Our pediatric surgeons work closely with the specialists in endocrinology, radiology and pathology to provide our patients with comprehensive care from diagnosis to surgery and follow-up care. The multidisciplinary team meets regularly to coordinate the care of each thyroid surgery patient.

We collaborate with the pathology team to provide real-time thyroid levels testing and work with endocrinology to coordinate our patients’ care immediately following surgery. 

Our team is also active in research related to thyroid surgery outcomes, and our patients receive the most advanced, evidence-based care.

Conditions We Treat

The conditions we treat include:

• Masses or nodules of the thyroid
• Graves’ disease
• Thyroid cancer

What to Expect

Most of the testing your child needs before surgery will typically be completed by their endocrinologist before they are referred to our team for surgery. Some patients may need additional testing, such as an ultrasound of the thyroid or a needle biopsy of any nodules in the thyroid gland. Your child’s care team will discuss any of these additional testing needs with you.

Our team will guide you and your child through each step of the process. This includes your child’s pre-operative consultation, anything you need to do to prepare for your child’s surgery, and what to expect the day of. Learn more about what happens before and on the day of your child’s surgery.

We also offer a number of other resources and support services for families. Learn more about some of the resources available to your family.

Your child’s care team will discuss with you what to expect during the recovery process after surgery, including any medications your child may need. For some patients, part of the thyroid is removed, and for others the entire thyroid gland is removed. If the entire thyroid gland is removed, patients will need to take a daily thyroid hormone medication lifelong.