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Outpatient thyroidectomy: is it a safe and reasonable option?
Crystal Hessman1, Jonathan Fields, Earl Schuman
1Department of General Surgery, Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital, Portland, OR, USA. hessmanc@ohsu.edu
American Journal of Surgery
|May 7, 2011
Summary
Outpatient thyroidectomy is safe and feasible for patients when performed by experienced surgeons. However, men and individuals with Graves' disease may require overnight admission for symptom management.
Area of Science:
- Surgical Oncology
- Endocrine Surgery
Background:
- Outpatient surgery offers cost-effectiveness and convenience.
- Thyroidectomy is a common endocrine surgical procedure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the safety and feasibility of outpatient thyroidectomy.
- To identify patient factors associated with increased risk of postoperative admission.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 148 thyroidectomy patients from a tertiary care center (January 2004 - March 2010).
- Comparison of outcomes between subtotal/hemithyroidectomies (n=79) and completion/total thyroidectomies (n=72).
Main Results:
- Overall, 12.5% of total thyroidectomy patients and 5.1% of hemithyroidectomy patients required unplanned overnight admission.
- Overnight admissions were significantly higher in men (32% vs 5%) and patients with Graves' disease (36% vs 6%).
- Low readmission rate (2.6%) and no reported deaths.
Conclusions:
- Outpatient thyroidectomy is a safe and feasible option when performed by experienced surgeons.
- Specific patient demographics, including male sex and Graves' disease, are associated with a higher likelihood of postoperative admission.
