Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/TtWHs0_tqLI   Thyroid surgeons performing at least 40 yearly complete thyroid excisions have the fewest complications. Kaiser Permanente California now reports its review of 10,500 such operations over a 7 year period.   The chief complications of vocal cord paralysis and parathyroid hormone deficiency occur since the nerves to the larynx and the parathyroid glands must be carefully dissected out of the thyroid before its removal.  Although these complications begin to decrease when a surgeon performs 18 such procedures a year, they only hit bottom at more than twice that number.   When you have surgery, your surgeon’s experience with your prospective operator far outweigh his or her bedside manner.  If you can get both, all the better.   Meltzer C, Hull M, Sundang A, Adams JL. Association Between Annual Surgeon Total Thyroidectomy Volume and Transient and Permanent Complications. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. Published online July 25, 2019145(9):830–837. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2019