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Safety of total thyroidectomy: Review of 100 consecutive cases
Author(s) -
Tovi Ferit,
Noyek Arnold M.,
Chapnik Jerry S.,
Freeman Jeremy L.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1288/00005537-198912000-00005
Subject(s) - medicine , hypoparathyroidism , surgery , thyroidectomy , recurrent laryngeal nerve , malignancy , dissection (medical) , thyroid , general surgery
During a 6‐year period (June 1982 to June 1988), 100 consecutive total thyroidectomies were performed at Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, for benign and malignant disease. There were five permanent complications: one deliberate sacrifice of the recurrent laryngeal nerve and four cases of persistent hypoparathyroidism. Four of these five complications occurred in extracapsular carcinoma and resulted from oncologic wide‐field resection and/or deliberate sacrifice. One patient with benign disease suffered initially transient hypoparathyroidism which has now become permanent. Interestingly, two patients actually underwent deliberate sacrifice of a recurrent laryngeal nerve; one patient has made a surprising recovery at 16 months postoperative and now has full vocal cord mobility. Our experience suggests that the morbidity of total thyroidectomy relates primarily to the stage of malignancy and extracapsular extension, necessitating en bloc excision accompanied by additional lymph node dissection. The low incidence of permanent complications in benign thyroid disease suggests the feasibility of total thyroidectomy as the operation of choice when surgeons are familiar with the technique and indications.