Established on January 1, 2007 and headed by Dr. Keith Heller, the Division was created to provide multidisciplinary care to patients with diseases of the endocrine glands that require surgery, including:
- Thyroid cancer and other thyroid tumors
- Hyperthyroidism
- Goiter
- Hyperparathyroidism
- Tumors of the adrenal glands
- Endocrine tumors of the pancreas
The incidence rate of thyroid cancer is increasing more rapidly than any other cancer in the United States. The number of new patients with thyroid cancer treated at NYU each year continues to increase as well. Members of the Division of Endocrine Surgery have operated on well over 1000 patients with thyroid cancer and many thousands more with other thyroid problems. Because of the extensive experience of our surgeons, difficult thyroid operations can be performed safely, without blood transfusions, and with a rapid return to normal activities.
Hyperparathyroidism, usually discovered because of elevated calcium levels in the blood, can cause osteoporosis, kidney stones, subtle behavioral changes and many other problems. Many patients with this condition require surgery to remove the overactive gland. Members of the Division of Endocrine Surgery have been leaders in the development of new surgical techniques permitting minimally invasive procedures. Each year hundreds of patients undergo parathyroid surgery at NYU, frequently with a hospitalization of only a few hours.
Although much less common than tumors of thyroid and parathyroid glands, endocrine tumors of the adrenal glands and pancreas are treated by members of the Division of Endocrine Surgery as well. Many of these operations can be performed laparoscopically through very small incisions, permitting more rapid recovery and less discomfort than surgery performed in the traditional manner.
In addition to treating patients with endocrine conditions, the mission of the Division includes ongoing research projects to learn more about the natural history of thyroid cancer and the molecular changes that make some cancers more aggressive than others. Through this type of research we hope to be able to individualize patient care, identifying those patients who need to be treated aggressively and those who perhaps do not need to be treated at all. New surgical techniques to further decrease the risk of thyroid and parathyroid surgery and minimize discomfort to patients are constantly being investigated.
The Department of Surgery at NYU has one of the most prestigious surgical resident training programs in the country. All of our residents are trained in the techniques developed by members of the Division of Endocrine Surgery so they may incorporate these advances in their own practices when they finish surgical training.