Effect of surgeon volume on pediatric thyroid surgery
Topic overview
Systematic review of 6,430 pediatric thyroidectomy cases examining the relationship between surgeon case volume and postoperative outcomes. High-volume surgeons demonstrated significantly lower complication rates and shorter hospital stays, though definitions of 'high-volume' varied widely across studies (≥9 to >200 annual cases).
Key takeaways
- Higher-volume surgeons demonstrate significantly lower complication rates and shorter hospital stays for pediatric thyroidectomy patients.
- Transient hypocalcemia remains the most common complication, occurring in 11-74% of cases depending on surgeon experience and technique.
- No consensus exists on defining 'high-volume' for pediatric thyroid surgery (ranges from ≥9 to >200 annual cases in literature).
- Concentrating pediatric thyroidectomy cases to fewer, higher-volume surgeons within practices may improve patient outcomes.
- Recurrent laryngeal nerve injury rates are low (0-9.7%) but vary significantly with surgeon volume and experience.
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