CLINICAL PRACTICE TIP: POST-THYROIDECTOMY VILLIANS

Four years ago I underwent a total thyroidectomy. I can remember waking up in the recovery room and being transported to my room. The first thing I said to my husband when I got to my room was this: “Look on my night stand and make sure you see a trach kit and a box of calcium gluconate.” Even though I was half out of it, I wanted to make sure that the nurses were prepared to handle the two most common complications of a thryoidectomy – hemorrhage and hypocalcemia.