Warning: Complications from thyroid cancer surgery are increasing

A new study shows that three groups of patients have the highest risk of complications after surgery for thyroid cancer.

In a recent study by scientists at the University of Michigan, the incidence of thyroid cancer is increasing, which means that the complications of post-surgery complications also increase significantly.

In it, the researchers tracked 22,867 people who had had thyroid cancer surgery between 1998 and 2011 on the database From Medicare Epidemiological Surveillance Services.

The unexpected results showed that about 6.5% of thyroid cancer patients had complications after surgery in the following month and 12% had complications one year after surgery.

Dr. Maria Papaleontiou, assistant professor of metabolic and endocrinology and diabetes at Michigan Medicine, said: " 12% of patients in general have special thyroid complications, " she said in a statement. newspapers. " Most of our surgeons have noticed that this rate has increased by 1-3%, four times what we thought before . '

Researchers looked at complications after general surgery including fever, infection, thrombosis and swelling that occurred during the first 30 days after surgery, as well as specific complications of thyroid surgery such as hypothyroidism, hypokalemia and laryngeal or paralysis lesions .

The study identified three groups of patients with more common thyroid surgery complications, including those over 65 years of age combined with other health conditions.

Papaleontiou said: " Cutting the thyroid gland is considered a fairly safe activity in general, but some organs and organs are more vulnerable and need more attention in pre-and post-operative care . "

Research shows that older patients are more likely to have complications than patients under 65 years of age, with 10% of elderly patients having postoperative complications and 19% having complications related to thyroid surgery .

The largest number of complications associated with the progression of the disease with a 23% rate spread to other organs.

This study has just been published in Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.