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Complications in Thyroid Surgery

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Evidence-Based Endocrine Surgery

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Abstract

Thyroid surgery is the surgery of parathyroid glands and recurrent laryngeal nerves. Surgeon is the most important prognostic factor for the complication rate. Possible complications of thyroid surgery are numerous, including bleeding, infection, hypoparathyroidism, recurrent and superior laryngeal nerve injury, thoracic duct injury, as well as injury of the lateral neck nerves, arteries, and veins. Some complications are considered minor, but can reduce quality of life significantly. These include pain, paresthesia, seroma, poor scaring, granuloma, sinus (fistula), and wound dehiscence. Excellent knowledge of anatomic landmarks and meticulous surgical technique is a prerequisite for prevention of surgical complications. However, if complications occur, timely diagnosis and adequate treatment are mandatory, since some of them can be life threatening if not recognized on time.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgery, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

    Radan Dzodic, Nada Santrac, Ivan Markovic, Marko Buta & Merima Goran

  2. Department of Endocrine and Head and Neck Surgery, Surgical Oncology Clinic, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia

    Radan Dzodic, Nada Santrac, Ivan Markovic, Marko Buta & Merima Goran

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  1. Radan Dzodic
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  2. Nada Santrac
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  3. Ivan Markovic
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  4. Marko Buta
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Endocrine Surgery, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore

    Rajeev Parameswaran

  2. Department of Endocrine Surgery, SGPGI Hospital, Lucknow, India

    Amit Agarwal

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Dzodic, R., Santrac, N., Markovic, I., Buta, M., Goran, M. (2018). Complications in Thyroid Surgery. In: Parameswaran, R., Agarwal, A. (eds) Evidence-Based Endocrine Surgery. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1124-5_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1124-5_16

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