Background:To study the frequency of postoperative complications after thyroid surgery indicated for various benign and malignant lesions and to corroborate the results in relation to the extent of surgery and a clinical overview of evolution of thyroid surgery.
Materials and methods:An analytical study was carried out at a tertiary care center over a period of 3 years from January 2011 to December 2013. Data were collected from 80 patients who underwent thyroidectomies for various thyroid diseases at this center.Results: Hemithyroidectomy, isthmusectomy, subtotal, neartotal, and total thyroidectomies were performed in 36 (45%), 6 (7.5%), 8 (10%), 10 (12.5%), and 20 (25%) cases respectively. The overall postoperative complication rate was 20%. Postoperative hypocalcemia and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury were the most common complications. Permanent hypocalcemia and permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve injury were observed in 3.75 and 2.5% of all operated cases respectively. The less common complications were wound hematoma, seroma formation, and superior laryngeal nerve injury. There was no mortality observed in our series.
Conclusion:The overall complication rate can be minimized by operating in a bloodless field, doing a meticulous dissection, and correctly identifying and preserving recurrent and superior laryngeal nerves along with parathyroid glands, if feasible.
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