Outcomes of Thyroid Surgery Performed by Senior Residents at a General Surgery Training Program: How Do We Compare?

Avigeet Gupta, Jaron L Pettis, Michael J Patetta, Richard M McCarroll, Zeid M Keilani and Fernando A Navarro

Department of Surgery, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, USA

^*Correspondance to: Avigeet Gupta 

 PDF  Full Text DOI: 10.25107/2474-1647.2258

Abstract

Thyroidectomy is a commonly performed surgical procedure in that is considered to be relatively safe in the modern surgical era. In the United States, general surgery residents have some training in thyroid surgery, but this training requirement does not align with the increasing demands for thyroidectomy procedures that are being performed annually by surgical subspecialists. Surgeons who perform more thyroidectomy procedures annually are known to have superior outcomes when compared to their low-volume counterparts. Our institution reviewed 111 patient records who underwent either partial or total thyroidectomies in order to compare our complication rates to literature values. Senior general surgery residents at our institution had complication rates for hypocalcemia, hematoma, seroma formation, surgical site infection, and nerve injury that were lower than the reported literature, highlighting the fact that thyroidectomy procedures performed at academic residency programs are generally safe. There is a greater need for general surgery programs nationwide to increase exposure to thyroid procedures and endocrine surgery in order to best serve the increasing demand for these procedures while maintaining and increasing patient safety.

Keywords

Thyroid Surgery; Complication Rates; General Surgery; Patient Safety; Surgical Training

Cite the article

Gupta A, Pettis JL, Patetta MJ, McCarroll RM, Keilani ZM, Navarro FA. Outcomes of Thyroid Surgery Performed by Senior Residents at a General Surgery Training Program: How Do We Compare? Clin Surg. 2018; 3: 2258.