Endocrine disorder question, please a nurse or doc. help?

Two dangers during thyroid surgery are damage to the vocal cords and damage to the parathyroid glands, which control calcium absorption. If you have damage to your parathyroid glands your calcium levels drops - often this is a temporary problem right after surgery. And the other person is right, you need Vit D to help absorb calcium. That's why milk has Vit D added.