My partner had a right thyroid lobectomy about 5 months ago, to remove a growth. At the time all scans and blood tests and biopsies were all negative for anything nasty, as was the biopsy on the growth they removed. About a month ago he was started on eutroxsig – 50mg for an underactive thyroid. Over the last 2 weeks he said that his throat muscles seem a bit tight, no sore or hurting or anything and not causing problems with swallowing etc. He has always had a gravelly voice but I feel since he mentioned his muscle being tight I don’t know if if is my imagination I thing his voice is more so. I am stressing that it could be pointing to something serious even though all the tests at the time of the operation were all clear. He definitely cannot feel any lumps and his throat is not sore in any way.

As people recover from a thyroid lobectomy they may experience symptoms such as sore throat, difficulty swallowing, or hoarse voice which may last for 5-7 days immediately post-operatively. These symptoms are mainly due to the tissue swelling around the area of surgery and should resolve over time as the swelling decreases.

From your question, it appears your partner has developed these symptoms about 5 months after his surgery. Swelling from surgery is highly unlikely to have persisted this long. The most likely culprits are related to medication (underdosing of his Eutroxsig) and mass effect (something compressing his throat). Even though the tests at the time of the surgery were clear, thyroid hormone is metabolized differently for different patients and he may now have low thyroid hormone. In addition, a repeat thyroid ultrasound might be warranted to see if the remaining lobe has enlarge. Therefore, he should be re-evaluated by the surgeon or his endocrinologist.