[Complications of lymph node dissection in thyroid cancer]

Cervical lymphadenectomy in thyroid cancer is a frequent intervention with around 20,000 operations per year in Germany. Some of the complications are identical with those in thyroid surgery, such as recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and hypoparathyroidism as well as postoperative bleeding and wound infection. Specific complications of lateral lymphadenectomy are lesions of the accessory, phrenic and hypoglossal nerves, the sympathetic trunk and cervical plexus as well as lesions of the salivary glands and lymphatic vessels, in particular the thoracic duct. Most of these complications are rare with a frequency of less than 1%. Profound knowledge of the anatomy and a meticulous dissection technique make a decisive contribution to minimizing these complications.