If you have a diagnosis of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) of the thyroid, a total thyroidectomy (removing the whole thyroid gland) is almost always recommended as the first step. If the cancer is very small (less than 1 cm) and limited to one side of the thyroid, some surgeons may only remove one half of the thyroid by performing a thyroid lobectomy. PTC can spread to the lymph nodes in the neck which may be felt pre-operatively on examination or seen on ultrasound and can be biopsied by fine needle aspiration (FNA) if they look suspicious. Removal of these lymph nodes during the thyroid resection is needed if the thyroid cancer is proven to have spread to them.
Radioactive iodine ablation (RAI) is given weeks to months postoperatively depending on the aggressiveness of the cancer based on pathologic findings and whether there is any remaining thyroid tissue. After total thyroidectomy, patients need to take thyroid hormone replacement pills for the rest of their life. Thyroid cancer can come back and therefore you will need long-term follow up after your initial treatment.
For more information go the endocrinediseases.org:
Diseases of thyroid gland: Thyroid cancer