International Journal of Medical and Health Research

Authors
Reham Albalawi, Alaa Alyahya, Latifah Alanzi, Mona Albalwi

Abstract
Background: Thyroid surgery is one of the common endocrine surgeries performed today. The main complications associated with thyroidectomy include injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve, damage to the parathyroid glands and hypocalcemia, postoperative hematoma and respiratory obstruction, wound infection, superior laryngeal nerve damage, tracheomalacia, and thyroid storm. Recurrent laryngeal nerve injury and hypoparathyroidism have the potential to be lifelong, costly issues for a patient. Materials and Methods: This study is a retrospective, descriptive study. Information was collected from patient records. The present study was conducted at King Khalid Hospital (KKH), Tabuk, KSA and included 100 patients admitted to the department of general surgery for various elective thyroidectomy procedures. A detailed history was taken from patient records. Results: The results of the study suggest that health programs should be designed specifically for males and females and more attention should be paid to females regarding the causes of thyroidectomy in order to increase awareness. Conclusion: Hypocalcemia is the most common complication of thyroidectomy in the literature as well as in our study. RLN Palsy is another complication associated with this procedure. It is essential to keep in mind the possible complications that may arise and be well prepared to manage them. Good surgical expertise is essential to avoid such complications.