Study: Outpatient Thyroid Surgery Safe

Outpatient thyroid surgery is safe and effective for select patients, according to a study by the Medical College of Georgia.

Thyroidectomy, the removal of the thyroid, has traditionally required multi-day hospitalization. At a minimum, many surgeons advocate overnight observation following the surgical procedure.

In the study, 52 patients had a thyroid procedure performed on an outpatient basis, 26 patients were observed under a 23-hour status, and 13 were admitted. There were two complications in the outpatient group and one in the inpatient group, according to researchers at the Medical College of Georgia Health System and Augusta Veterans Administration Hospital. Costs were significantly lower for outpatients — $7,814 — than for inpatients — $10,288.

The study suggests that for carefully selected patients who prefer convalescence at home and are not weak due to age and disease, outpatient thyroid surgery is safe and cost-effective, even when a total or completion thyroidectomy has been performed.

The findings are being presented at the 110th American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery Foundation annual meeting in Toronto.