Complications of Thyroid Surgery

The morbidity (complication) rate is 13 percent with a serious morbidity rate of 2 percent. Complications include the following:

Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Injury
This causes hoarseness. It occurs 8 percent of the time as a short-term problem and in 1 percent of cases as a long-term complication. If short term, it should resolve within six to twelve months.

Injury to the Superior Laryngeal Nerve
This causes difficulty with singing high notes. The true incidence is unknown.

Hypoparathyroidism
This results in hypocalcemia—a deficiency of calcium in the blood. It occurs transiently in 8 percent of patients and is a long-term problem in 1 percent.

Hematoma
When this occurs it is usually between six to 24 hours after surgery. It may necessitate a return to the operating room so the excess blood can be drained.