Impact of fellowship training for specialists on thyroidectomy outcomes of patients with thyroid cancer

We aimed to evaluate the impact of fellowship training (FT) for thyroid specialists on the outcomes of patients with thyroid cancer. We reviewed surgeries performed for thyroid cancer before (non-FT group) and after (FT group) fellowship training and compared several variables, including length of stay of patients, tumor diameter, surgical method, lymph node dissection, parathyroid implantation, surgical duration, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative complications. Compared with the non-FT group, the FT group had a shorter hospital stay, more adequate fine needle aspiration biopsy of the thyroid, less intraoperative blood loss, higher rate of parathyroid implantation, higher lymph node dissection rate, and lower nerve injury and hypoparathyroidism rates. When the surgical duration was < 200 min and/or only central lymph node dissection was performed, the FT group had a lower incidence of postoperative complications than the non-FT group. When, the incidence of postoperative complications, including postoperative nerve injury and hypoparathyroidism. In conclusion, FT for thyroid specialists is beneficial for patients with thyroid cancer and may allow a shorter hospital stay and reduced incidence of postoperative complication. Accordingly, FT may facilitate a more appropriate surgical approach with a preoperative pathological diagnosis.