№ 26Thematic Questions22 min read
Benign diseases of the thyroid. Thyroid surgery
1. Big picture
Benign thyroid disease becomes a surgical topic when the thyroid causes:
- Mass effect: dysphagia, dyspnea, choking, tracheal deviation/compression, retrosternal extension.
- Hormonal disease: toxic multinodular goiter, toxic adenoma, Graves disease requiring definitive treatment.
- Cancer suspicion: suspicious nodule, indeterminate fine-needle aspiration cytology, rapid growth, hoarseness, lymph nodes.
- Cosmetic or recurrent symptoms.
- Failure or contraindication of medical/radioiodine treatment.
The exam focus is not only thyroid diseases, but safe thyroidectomy: recurrent laryngeal nerve, external branch of superior laryngeal nerve, parathyroids, postoperative hematoma, and hypocalcemia.
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