Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 20, 2026
Minimal Invasive Resection of Large Retrosternal Thyroid Goiter
Published on: September 20, 2024
Evolution of pediatric thyroid surgery at a tertiary medical center
Jocelyn F Burke1, Rebecca S Sippel, Herbert Chen
1Department of Surgery, Section of Endocrine Surgery, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Insights
Pediatric thyroid surgery is safe and effective, with increased procedures for benign conditions at specialized centers. High-volume endocrine surgery centers improve outcomes for children undergoing thyroidectomy.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Surgery
- Endocrine Surgery
- Thyroidology
Background:
- Pediatric thyroidectomy is often avoided due to perceived risks.
- Subspecialization and high-volume centers are changing indications and extent of resection.
- This study examines the evolution of pediatric thyroid surgery at a tertiary medical center.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze trends and outcomes in pediatric thyroid surgery.
- To compare surgical practices before and after the establishment of an endocrine surgery center.
- To assess the safety and efficacy of pediatric thyroidectomy.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of a prospectively collected database of pediatric thyroidectomies (1994-2009).
- Patients were divided into two groups based on the establishment of an endocrine surgery center (1994-2001 vs. 2002-2009).
- Analysis of patient demographics, indications, extent of resection, and complications.
Main Results:
- The number of pediatric thyroidectomies doubled after the center's establishment.
- Total thyroidectomies increased significantly, including for benign conditions.
- Transient complications occurred in 9% of patients, with no permanent complications.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric thyroid surgery is highly safe, particularly at high-volume endocrine surgery centers.
- Increased surgical treatment for benign thyroid disease and preference for total thyroidectomy are observed.
- These trends suggest growing confidence in surgical safety, efficacy, and thyroid hormone replacement therapy.
Background:
Thyroidectomy in the pediatric population is often avoided due to perceived risks in children. With growing subspecialization and establishment of high volume endocrine surgery centers, the indications for thyroid surgery and extent of resection continue to change. We examined the evolution of pediatric thyroid surgery at a high volume tertiary medical center.
Methods:
From our prospectively collected database, we reviewed medical records of individuals younger than 19 y who underwent thyroidectomy at our institution from 1994 to 2009. Patients were divided into two groups: (1) before establishment of our endocrine surgery center (1994-2001) and (2) since establishment of the center (2002-2009).
Results:
We identified 78 operations performed on 74 patients with a median age of 15 (range 3-18) y. We found that the number of patients doubled in the later time period, with 26 operations in group 1 and 52 in group 2. The age of patients and percentage of females were similar between groups. After establishment of the endocrine surgery center, there was a significant increase in total thyroidectomies for all indications, including significantly more for benign disease. Overall, 9% of the patient population experienced transient complications, with no permanent complications or long-term sequelae.
Conclusions:
Pediatric thyroid surgery is extremely safe, especially when performed at a high volume endocrine surgery center. We more often select surgical treatment for benign disease and choose total thyroidectomy over limited resection. This may reflect increasing confidence in the safety and efficacy of surgery and reliability of thyroid hormone replacement.
Related Concept Videos
01:23The Thyroid Gland
The follicles have a central cavity lined by simple cuboidal to squamous epithelial cells called follicular cells. These cells produce the glycoprotein...
01:26Kidney Transplant II: Surgical Procedure