thyroidectomy - USA or CH?

Family, Education, Health and Pets
1
I (likely) have to do thyroidectomy in next 12 months. I can do it now in USA or wait a few months and start the process in Zurich.

I see here people complain about long wait times when you start from GP. My path would be GP -> Endo -> ENT surgent.

It seems easier to do it now, but then again it's sometimes good to delay surgeries and hope for some miracle that would eliminate the need.

2
Daughter #1 had it done last December, due to Morbus Basedow.

They tried over a year to get the function of the Thyroid down to normal to no avail, hence thyroidectomy, to en able her to start a family now.

She had it done at INSELSPITAL in Bern, they also have a specialist Endocrinology dept there. Very recommendable!!

If you are already under treatment in the US, best bet would be to get your Endo to write a referal to an Endo in Zurich.

Then you should be able to forego the GP visit first and thus have the procedure done quicker in the end.

Cheerio EE, a hashi sufferer myself

3
I‘ve not had any thyroid experience, but I‘ve had surgery for knee replacement and breast cancer. For breast cancer it was 9 days from diagnosis to surgery (granted, that is fairly emergent). For knee surgery it was about 5 weeks. I‘ve really not had a long wait. The key is to find a good endo and surgeon. If you‘ve got one in the US already, and decent insurance, that‘s totally an option.

In Switzerland, if you don‘t have complimentary insurance or coverage that allows you to go outside your Kanton for inpatient care, you can see any endo you want, but for inpatient care, you‘ll need to negotiate with your insurer to have surgery outside your Kanton. For example, I was living in Bern when I had breast cancer. I still see my original oncologist and gyn in Bern, but were I to need surgery, if I wanted it in Bern, I’d need approval from my insurance. Just an extra step to know about when choosing your docs. It should not create a huge delay.

I don‘t have any endo expertise, but there are surely lots of folks here with experience.

It‘s really a wash....I like health care here (and I am an American) but everyone has different experience. Just depends on where you think the best docs and best aftercare are, and what fits info your life. Good luck!

4
I’ve never had to wait a long time for a referral from my GP, a couple of weeks at most.

5
both be good - it's pretty standard surgery and shouldn't be an issues .

6
I was operated on at this hospital. https://pyramide.ch/en/specialist-fi...yroid-surgery/

This was the surgeon.

https://pyramide.ch/en/doctors/speci...e-surgery/?s=1

I would definitely seek a specialist surgeon rather than an ENT. I was referred to an ENT before and after my operation for a pre check and post op check of the vocal chords.

Do you have insurance coverage in the US? Do you live in Switzerland?