Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 7, 2025

Minimal Invasive Resection of Large Retrosternal Thyroid Goiter
Published on: September 20, 2024
Surgical management of Graves' disease: historical context and single institution experience
Michael J Russell1, Simon Young2, Richard Martin3
1FRACS, Breast and Endocrine Surgery Fellow, Department of General Surgery, Waitematā DHB, Auckland.
Aim:
To describe indications and outcomes of total thyroidectomy for Graves' disease in a large New Zealand endocrine surgery unit, and to compare these results to international studies.
Methods:
We analysed a prospectively collected database to describe the indications and outcomes of surgery for Graves' disease between December 2001 and January 2021.
Results:
Among 64 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy at our tertiary centre for Graves' hyperthyroidism, Graves' ophthalmopathy and patient preference/aversion to radioactive iodine were the most common indications for surgery. Total thyroidectomy resulted in long-term control of thyrotoxicosis in all patients. There were no incidences of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury. One patient (1.6%) suffered permanent hypoparathyroidism.
Conclusion:
Total thyroidectomy is a safe and effective treatment for Graves' disease. In our population, total thyroidectomy functions as a second-line treatment for Graves' disease.
Related Concept Videos
Inflammatory Bowel Disease V: Surgical Management
Here are some common surgical interventions for IBD:
Psychosurgery
Historical Development of Psychosurgery
In the 1930s, Portuguese neurologist Antonio Egas Moniz introduced a surgical procedure designed...
Urinary Tract Calculi VI: Surgical Management
The Thyroid Gland
The follicles have a central cavity lined by simple cuboidal to squamous epithelial cells called follicular cells. These cells produce the glycoprotein...

