Changes in thyroid surgery over last 25 years

In the last 25 years, there have been significant advances in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disorders. The aim of this study was to analyze 25 years of experience in thyroid surgery in high volume endocrine center in terms of demographic changes, indications for surgical treatment, the type of thyroid surgery and complications. Clinical material (3748 patients) from the years 1996-2020 was analyzed by compering two Periods: I (1996-2003) vs. II (2011-2015/2018-2020). The percentage of patients operated on for thyroid cancer increased (p < 0.00001) and the extent of thyroid surgery changing from partial to total excision was statistically significant (p < 0.00001). The increase in the extent of thyroidectomy did not affect the overall recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (p = 0.1785), but resulted in an increase of postoperative clinical hypoparathyroidism (p < 0.00001). The introduction of new technologies, such as intraoperative nerve monitoring of the recurrent laryngeal nerves had a significant impact on the changes in thyroid surgery over 25 years.