Bobbi
This is basically to aaagraves, about the recommendation to have surgery rather than RAI, because her RAI didn’t "take." Or, to anyone else, for that matter who thinks that surgery will definitely "fix" things — as opposed to RAI. The data suggests that the failure of the treatment to correct hyperthyroidism is the same — approximately 10% — for either RAI or surgery.
There are undoubtedly many factors to explain this bit of data — primarily, however, it is the misconception that people have about how much tissue the surgery will remove. As a general rule, surgeons leave "some" thyroid tissue in order to protect the parathyroid glands, and also in order to protect the nerve that services the vocal cords (which runs through the thyroid). So, our thyroidectomies are, typically, "partial" not total. And if thyroid tissue is left over, there is always the possiblity that there is enough for the patient to remain hyperthyroid — less hyperthyroid than before, but still hyperthyroid.
Whether someone who has had RAI can then opt for surgery is a question I don’t have the answer for. It may vary from patient to patient. You would need to talk with your doctor.
Bobbi — NGDF Online Facilitator