How often are vocal chords hurt when removing a thyroid nodule?

Depends: The biggest risk is from damage to the recurrent laryngeal nerve, which runs under the thyroid and controls the vocal cords. It depends on the patient's risk factors and the skill of the surgeon. However, despite that it can still occur as a transient injury in up to 5-8% of thyroid surgeries. It can also be permanent in up to 0.3-3% of thyroid surgeries. Being intubated can also contribute.

Should be 0 : Removing a thyroid nodule should not put the recurrent laryngeal nerve at risk. To minimize problems with vocal cord function you should make sure to have a surgeon who does a lot of thyroid surgery with a very low incidence of problems. You want to avoid using a surgeon who does only occasional work on the thyroid.