Thyroid Surgery Outcomes in the Obese Patient

Abstract

Obesity continues to increase in prevalence among the adult population in the US. With obesity comes other comorbidities including cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and obstructive sleep apnea. The increased body mass index and body habitus may present specific challenges to the surgeon during thyroid surgery itself. These challenges include difficulty palpating anterior neck landmarks, shortened neck, excessive submental and upper thoracic tissue obstructing the surgical field, and thickness of structures overlying the thyroid. While obesity has been associated with increased serum levels of thyroid stimulating hormones, the literature is inconsistent regarding the correlation between obesity and incidence of thyroid cancer.1 Despite these inconsistencies, there remains an increased number of obese patients undergoing thyroid surgery each year. The increased frequency of obese patients undergoing thyroidectomy warrants further evaluation to identify any difficulties or potential complications that may be specific to the obese patient. While there are studies that evaluate outcomes of thyroid surgery in the obese population, very few discuss thyroid specific outcomes of thyroid surgery in the obese patient.2 The aim of this study is to determine if patient demographics and comorbidities have an effect on surgical outcomes, including thyroid specific complications in obese patients undergoing thyroid surgery.