Complications of thyroid surgery.

The first recorded thyroid operation is credited to Albucacis in Spain in around the year 1000. About 170 years later, Frugardi attempted to induce atrophy of a goitre by transfixing it with shoelaces. From this surgical technique evolved slowly via methods including mass ligatures, chemical cautery, morcellation and injection of turpentine, to the more familiar concepts of modern thyroidectomy (Hegner, 1932; Dionigi et al, 2008). Today, surgeons continue to refine the technique via new equipment such as Harmonic scalpels and nerve monitors, and novel techniques such as minimally-invasive and non-cervical approaches (e.g. via the axilla or the mouth).