[Surgical treatment of hyperthyroid struma: surgery results, postoperative long-term course and study of a factor...

None of the 335 patients thyroidectomized for hyperthyroidism in our department of surgery between 1972 and 1982 died as a consequence of the operation. Reassessment of 226 of these patients by questionnaire 68 +/- 25 (SD) months after thyroidectomy revealed the following complications: postoperative paresis of the recurrent nerve (9%), persistent change of voice (2%), and persistent hypoparathyroidism (3.5%). 91 patients underwent a follow-up investigation 74 +/- 33 months after thyroidectomy. Only one had recurrent hyperthyroidism but 6 had a recurrence of the goiter. Patients with recurrent goiters had a significantly higher frequency of increased serum thyroglobulin levels than patients without goiters. These results emphasize the effectiveness of surgical therapy in hyperthyroidism, and suggest that serum thyroglobulin might be a useful predictor for goiter recurrence.