Local/regional anesthesia for thyroidectomy: evaluation as an outpatient procedure

The purpose of this paper was to review my evolving experience with local/regional anesthesia in an outpatient setting.

Two hundred three consecutive patients during a 9-year period who chose to undergo thyroid operation under regional/local anesthesia were reviewed. Early discharge was offered to patients who were observed for 6 hours without neck swelling and who had no surgical reasons for delaying discharge.

In group A there were 2 patients who were given inhalation anesthesia during operation compared with none in groups B and C. The average length of stay in group A was 0.49 days, 0.55 days in group B, and 0.24 days in group C. Eighty-five percent of the patients whose operation began before 1300 hours were discharged within 6 hours versus only 50% of those operated on later in the day. Forty-seven percent of patients in group A, 65% of group B, and 77% of patients in group C were discharged within 6 hours of operation. On the basis of previous experience with general anesthesia, discharge time is not significantly influenced by the type of anesthesia chosen. There were no readmissions to the hospital, but 2 episodes of postoperative bleeding required reoperation. Survey showed that 95% of patients rated the level of pain equivalent or less severe than dental procedures under local anesthesia, and all patients would choose local again.

These data suggest that thyroidectomy can be performed with the patient under local/regional anesthesia, with low morbidity and high patient satisfaction. Most patients can be discharged within 6 to 8 hours, and these discharges were not associated with readmissions.