[Prospective Evaluation of the Quality of the Results of Thyroid Surgery in an ENT-Department]. / Prospektive Untersuchung zur Ergebnisqualität von Schilddrüsenoperationen in einer HNO-Klinik.

ABSTRACT

Although the thyroid gland is located in the neck it is not a matter of fact that it is a clinical issue for the otorhinolaryngologist in Germany. Probably due to historic reasons general surgeons usually perform operations on the thyroid. As at our department this kind of treatment is an established procedure we prospectively evaluated our thyroid cases in order to present our results.The prospective study started in the year of 2014. So far 231 patients were enrolled with an average age of 53,5 years (16-89). The sex ratio showed a preponderance of the female patients with 187 and 64 males. In 155 cases we didn't insert a Redon-drainage. The mean operation time was 133 min. The preoperative concentration of calcium was 2.44 mg/ml with a postoperative decrease to 2.21 mg/ml. In cases of malignancies revealed in histology a second procedure with complete thyroidectomy and neck dissection took place immediately afterwards.Many symptoms of disorders of the thyroid become manifest in a genuine region of our speciality. Therefore we cannot detect any convincing reason why head and neck surgeons should not perform thyroidectomies. Skills like the specific clinical examination, the preoperative diagnostic work flow including sonography, the precise surgical management of soft tissue and neural structures and the postoperative care are typical features of our discipline. However, besides the surgeon's expertise a close collaboration with the colleagues of nuclear medicine and the general practitioner respectively the endocrinologist is mandatory in order to achieve a high quality of treatment.