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Herbert Chen, MD

Arch Surg. 2009;144(2):153.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Hoarseness is a dreaded complication after thyroidectomy. Even in the most experienced hands, significant postoperative voice changes occur in more than 5% to 10% of patients. Echternach et al report that 42% of patients undergoing thyroidectomy at their institution experienced a laryngeal complication. Most of these complications were unrelated to injury to the recurrent nerve by the surgeon but caused by trauma to the vocal folds after intubation. While these finding are enlightening (and relieving!) to those of us who perform thyroid operations, there are still unresolved issues and questions about the data in this study. First, there are no data about patient symptoms associated with the laryngeal complications. If most patients did not have symptoms, what is the clinical importance of the findings? Second, do we know for certain that most of the vocal fold injuries were caused by endotracheal intubation rather than intraoperative abrasions or . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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RELATED ARTICLE

Laryngeal Complications After Thyroidectomy: Is It Always the Surgeon?
Matthias Echternach, Christoph Maurer, Thomas Mencke, Martin Schilling, Thomas Verse, and Bernhard Richter
Arch Surg. 2009;144(2):149-153.
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