ABSTRACT
The incidence of thyroid cancer has steadily increased over the years. Although all histologic subtypes of thyroid cancer have increased, papillary thyroid cancer has had the greatest increase, from an annual incidence rate of 5.5 per 100,000 people in 1990 to 13.83 per 100,000 people in 2010 [1]. Thus, there is a growing need for expert thyroid surgeons. Thyroid surgery can be treacherous due to the proximity of important adjacent structures, such as the trachea, major blood vessels, and nerves. This chapter discusses the fundamental principles of thyroid surgery: hemostasis, capsular dissection, and preservation of the parathyroid glands and recurrent laryngeal nerves. In addition, outcomes of thyroid cancer are discussed in terms of both nonneoplastic and tumor variables.
