Assessment of the Early and Late Complication after Thyroidectomy

The complications in thyroid surgery have been reported variable in literature. The aim of this study was to evaluate the early and late (3 months after surgery) complication rates of thyroidectomy in a cohort of patients undergoing thyroid surgery at two hospitals of Isfahan University of Medical Science, Iran.

This study included 204 patients who candidates for thyroidectomy presenting at Medical Educational Centers of Al-Zahra and Kashani hospitals in Isfahan between March 2016 and March 2017. Clinical data are collected for all patients by continuous enrollment. The patients examined before and after thyroid surgery and the findings were recorded.

The highest prevalence of thyroidectomy was in women (81.9%). The most frequent thyroid surgery was total thyroidectomy and the most common indication for thyroid surgery was suspicious fine-needle aspiration for thyroid malignancy. Hypocalcemia was the most common complication with a frequency of 54.4%. The odds ratios for early complications were 2.375 and 2.542 for intermediate- and low-volume surgeons, respectively, compared to high-volume surgeons.

According to the results of this study, the high level of surgeon's skill is effective to reduce the likelihood of late and early complications; furthermore, the chance of late complications increases with age.