Surgical Treatment of Graves' Disease: Review of 34 Cases

Between 1995 and 2004, 34 patients with Graves' disease were treated surgically. We have reviewed their clinical records and evaluated the results of surgical treatment and the surgical complications. Post-operative hypothyroidism occurred in 83%, but there was no recurrence of hyperthyroidism. Postoperative hypoparathyroidism was detected in 24%. However, postoperative bleeding or recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy was not noted in any patient. From these observations, we propose to preserve 4g of thyroid gland under an adequate surgical procedure for each individual.