Dr Chris Hobbs

Senior Consultant
Ear Nose Throat / Head & Neck Surgeon

Thyroid Surgery

​Dr. Chris Hobbs is an experienced thyroid specialist and surgeon who treats patients with thyroid lumps and other thyroid diseases. Thyroid nodules are common in Singapore and the incidence of thyroid cancer is increasing.

What is the thyroid gland?
​The thyroid gland is an endocrine gland that makes hormones which are released into the bloodstream. These hormones affect cells and tissues in other parts of the body and help them to function normally.

Where is the thyroid gland?
​The thyroid gland is at the base of the throat. It is made up of two lobes (each about half the size of a plum). The two lobes lie on either side of your windpipe, with the gland lying just below your Adam’s apple.

What does the thyroid gland do?
​The thyroid gland produces two main hormones that are released into the bloodstream:

  • Thyroxine, often called T4.

  • Triiodothyronine, often called T3. In the body, T4 is converted into T3 and this is what influences the way cells and tissues work.

Both can be replaced easily by medication.

What do the thyroid hormones do?
​Thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) help to control the speed of body processes – your metabolic rate. If too much of the thyroid hormones is released, your body works faster than normal, and you have ‘hyperthyroidism’. This would make you feel overactive and anxious, hungrier than usual, and you would lose weight. However, if too little of the thyroid hormones is produced, your body works slower than normal, and you have ‘hypothyroidism’. In that case, you would feel tired and sluggish, and put on weight easily.

Thyroid cancer​

​Most cancers of the thyroid gland are very slow growing, and it may be many years before the symptoms become obvious. Are all thyroid cancers the same? No, there are different types:
Papillary carcinoma – this is the most common thyroid cancer. It is more common in younger people, particularly women.
Follicular carcinoma – this is less common and tends to occur in slightly older people than those with papillary cancer.
Medullary carcinoma – this is a rare cancer, which is sometimes hereditary (i.e. it is passed down through a family from one generation to the next).
Most thyroid cancers are very treatable and curable, but it is possible that they will recur, especially in the very young and very old. This can occur at any stage, but recurrences can be treated successfully, so lifelong follow-up is most important.

What is the cause of thyroid cancer?

The cause of thyroid cancer is unknown, but exposure to radiation is known to increase the risk of getting thyroid cancer. For example, after the Chernobyl accident, many more children in the area got thyroid cancer. Similarly, it has been found in people who had external radiotherapy to the neck 10 or 20 years earlier. Research into the causes of thyroid cancer is ongoing. Very occasionally papillary cancer is hereditary, and medullary cancer is quite often hereditary.