The study aimed to compare the complication rates of three different types of surgery for benign multinodular goitre (MNG): Subtotal Thyroidectomy (STT), near total thyroidectomy (NTT), and total thyroidectomy (TT). 20 patients were studied with a median follow-up of 3 months. The study found that there were no operative deaths and no patients required emergency surgery for haematoma. The results show that the incidence of transient hypocalcaemia increased with the extent of the resection, with 5% of patients in the STT group developing this complication, 30% in the NTT group, and 30% in the TT group. Permanent complications were rare, with only 0.05% of patients in the STT group experiencing permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy. None of the patients in the NTT or TT groups experienced permanent complications. However, there were 2 (1.2%) recurrences in the STT group. All patients in the ST group required at least 50 mcg of thyroxine supplementation after the operation. The study concludes that there are low permanent complication rates following thyroid surgery, but that there is a risk of recurrence with MNG and therefore NTT or TT may be the best choice of operation for MNG.

Thyroidectomy, Goitre nodular, Multinodular goitre, Complications