Excision of a 1.9 kg goitre under local anaesthetic

A 30-year-old woman with a large goitre underwent thyroidectomy under local anaesthetic field block. A 1.9 kg goitre was resected. She was given light sedation but was able to communicate throughout the whole procedure which was performed comfortably under the local anaesthesia. She made an uneventful recovery with no complications. Local anaesthetic was chosen as the safest procedure in a remote rural Ugandan hospital which lacked close post-operative monitoring. Other benefits of using local anaesthesia are discussed.