Removing one side of the thyroid (called a lobectomy) has fewer complications because only one nerve and two parathyroids are at risk. It is useful in selected cases with small papillary cancers or follicular cancers with only minimal invasion. Tumor might remain, however, in a few patients.
    The surgeon may select a procedure depending on the type of thyroid cancer as well as the size of the nodule and his or her own experience.

Radioactive Iodine Therapy  It has been standard practice in many reputable cancer treatment centers to give radioactive iodine after surgery. Assuming that a scan demonstrates that the tumor takes up iodine, as occurs in about two-thirds of cases, there is general agreement that this therapy is useful in patients over 45 years with papillary and follicular cancers if their tumors are multiple, locally invasive, larger than 1 in. (2.5 cm) or are associated with local or distant metastases.
    This therapy has side effects, including temporary bone marrow suppression , inflammation of salivary glands, nausea and vomiting, scarring of the lung, pain in areas of metastasis and, rarely, leukemia.
    The radioactive iodine is given when the patient is hypothyroid in preparation for the scan. A serum thyroglobulin level should also be obtained since persistent disease is present when it is elevated. After scanning or treatment, patients are again placed on thyroid hormone in order to avoid hypothyroidism and to suppress the TSH levels, which might stimulate residual tumor cells to grow. Some patients will require retreatment with radioactive iodine if the serum thyroglobulin level again becomes elevated or recurrent disease becomes evident.