Urgent surgery for thyroid diseases and complications of early postoperative period

The analysis of surgical treatment results of 27.253 patients with various diseases of thyroid cancer is performed in St. Petersburg, Endocrine Surgery and Oncology Center. A classification of urgent surgery for complications of disease (277/1.0 %) or postoperative states that required reinterventions (246/0.9 %) in period from 1973 to 2012 is developed. Altogether immediate and urgent operations are performed in 523 (1.9 %) patients. Various thyroid diseases (cervical-retrosternal goiter, anaplastic carcinoma, strumitis, thyroiditis) or the progression of inflammation of the neck and / or mediastinum became a cause of neck compression and subsequently required urgent interventions in 277 (1.0 %) cases. Complications of early postoperative period (mobility disorders of the vocal cords, postoperative bleeding, and rupture of the trachea) served as an occasion to emergency operations in 246 (0.9 %) cases. The measures of prevention, prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment of patients with life-threatening complications in thyroid surgery are examined.