Combined cardiac surgery and total thyroidectomy: our experience and review of the literature.
BACKGROUND
The prevalence of thyroid disease in patients with cardiac disease can be as high as 11.2%. Combined thyroid and cardiovascular surgery has rarely been reported.


METHODS
Ten patients (6 female, 4 male, age range 51-73 years) had total thyroidectomy and cardiac surgery in the same procedure in our surgical department. Six patients had coronary artery disease; four patients had valvulopathy. The thyroid goiter was retrosternal in 6 patients.


RESULTS
Mean stay in the intensive care unit was 46.4 hours; the postoperative course was complicated by transient right laryngeal nerve palsy in one case and by transient hypocalcemia in the patients in whom a parathyroid autotransplantation was performed (n = 3). There was one case of hemodynamic compromise needing vasoactive drug support; the mean hospital stay was 8.4 days.


CONCLUSIONS
Our experience and our review of the literature suggest that a single-stage procedure is safe and feasible and must be preferred to different operations as it has an acceptable peri-operative and anesthesiological risk.
Department of Application in Surgery of Innovative Technologies, Section of General Surgery, University Medical School of Bari, Bari, Italy. mario.testini@chirgen2.uniba.it
M
M
Testini
E
E
Poli
D
D
Lardo
G
G
Lissidini
A
A
Gurrado
G
G
Scrascia
P G
PG
Malvindi
G
G
Rubino
G
G
Piccinni
L
L
de Luca Tupputi Schinosa
D000368:Aged; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D003422:Critical Care; D005260:Female; D006042:Goiter / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000009:adverse effects; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome