Introduction: This study highlights the importance of transitioning to a modern approach to outpatient surgery, analyzing the safety and feasibility of this treatment model in patients undergoing hemithyroidectomy or total thyroidectomy, with a focus on postoperative complications.
Materials and Methods: Data were collected from the medical records of 626 patients over a five-year period, from 2011 to 2015, at the Surgery Clinic of the "Dr Dragiša Mišović – Dedinje" in Belgrade. This period allowed for a reliable analysis of the safety and feasibility of outpatientthyroid surgery.
Results: A total of 97 hemithyroidectomies and 529 total thyroidectomies were performed. The average age of hemithyroidectomy patients was 51.24 years, and for total thyroidectomy patients, it was 54.88 years. The most common substrates were benign tumors (over 50%) for hemithyroidectomies and multinodular goiters (almost 50%) for total thyroidectomies. The average hospital stay was 1 day for hemithyroidectomies and 1.48 days for total thyroidectomies. Complications included postoperative bleeding (0.57%), subcutaneous hematoma (1.32%), subcutaneous seroma (2.08%), temporary hypocalcemia or hypoparathyroidism (18.9%), permanent hypocalcemia or hypoparathyroidism (0.76%), temporary vocal cord paralysis (2.65%), permanent vocal cord paralysis (1.89%), bilateral vocal cord paralysis (0.19%), and mortality (0%).
Conclusion: The study confirmed the feasibility and safety of outpatient thyroid surgery, with minimal complications and short hospital stays, especially for hemithyroidectomy, but careful postoperative monitoring is required for patients undergoing total thyroidectomy.
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