[Surgical treatment of benign thyroid nodules]

Benign thyroid nodules is a significant clinical problem since it involves more than 90% of all thyroid surgery. This has led the authors to perform a retrospective study of 190 patients suffering from this pathology out of 299 patients who underwent surgery from 1979 to 1995. 89 total thyroidectomies and 101 radical hemithyroidectomies were performed in patients suffering from benign thyroid nodules. Two cases of recurrent monolateral paralysis were found as well as 3 cases of permanent hypoparathyroidism in those patients who underwent total thyroidectomies. The results of numerous authors as well as the present case review indicate that more radical surgery does not significantly affect the degree of permanent complications. For this reason the authors are convinced that such radical surgery should be the treatment of choice, particularly in young patients whose life expectancy is long and where the likelihood of recurrence is greater.