Surgical approach to the substernal goiter.

Surgery for substernal goiters can be technically demanding. Extensive mediastinal extension brings the thyroid gland into close quarters with vital intrathoracic structures. Proper preoperative planning is required to determine the potential need for an extracervical approach. Assessing the risk of requiring an extracervical approach is typically based on findings from cross-sectional imaging of the neck and chest. This article addresses the important anatomical considerations when resecting a large substernal goiter and also reviews various extracervical approaches.