[Results of ambulatory unilateral thyroid surgery. A preliminary study]

Ambulatory thyroid surgery has been demonstrated to be effective but this technique has been less widely implemented than expected. Because of the probability of hemorrhage in the first 24 hours after the intervention and the subsequent development of a suffocating hematoma, endocrine surgeons are reluctant to perform this procedure. The advent of new technologies applied to thyroid surgery and specialization of thyroid surgeons could reverse this impasse in ambulatory thyroid surgery. We present our preliminary results of ambulatory unilateral thyroid surgery.

The patients underwent surgery between February 2005 and June 2006 carried out by the same surgeon performing endocrine surgery exclusively since 2000. In most patients, the criteria of minimally invasive surgery (incision < 3 cm) were applied.

A total of 79.1% (53/67) of the patients undergoing unilateral thyroid surgery were considered candidates for ambulatory surgery. The substitution index and the unplanned admission rate was 90.5% (48/53) and 9.4% (5/53), respectively. Two patients had minor complications (3.8%). None of the patients developed hemorrhage or required readmission in the immediate postoperative period.

Although preliminary, these results should at least lead to reconsideration of the possibility of performing thyroidectomy in the ambulatory setting and of including this process in the routine activity of ambulatory units in certain hospitals. However, this type of surgery should be performed by surgeons experienced in thyroid surgery and there should be a sufficient number of patients requiring thyroid surgery throughout the year.