Benign diseases of the thyroid. Thyroid surgery

1. Big picture

Benign thyroid disease becomes a surgical topic when the thyroid causes:

1. Mass effect: dysphagia, dyspnea, choking, tracheal deviation/compression, retrosternal extension.
2. Hormonal disease: toxic multinodular goiter, toxic adenoma, Graves disease requiring definitive treatment.
3. Cancer suspicion: suspicious nodule, indeterminate fine-needle aspiration cytology, rapid growth, hoarseness, lymph nodes.
4. Cosmetic or recurrent symptoms.
5. 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,