Thyroid cancer incidence is increasing, and surgery is the primary therapy for the majority of patients. This study aimed to report the surgical experience of a single Portuguese center on the treatment of thyroid cancer.

Retrospective cohort study from 305 consecutive patients with thyroid cancer submitted thyroid surgery between 2013 and 2022.

Of 305 patients, 262 (86%) were women and 43 were (14%) men. The median age at presentation was 57 years (range 16-88 years). Regarding the type of carcinoma, 267 (87.5%) patients had papillary carcinoma, 23 (7.6%) had follicular carcinoma, 11 (3.6%) had medullary carcinoma, and 4 (1.3%) had poorly differentiated carcinoma. The stage was I and II in 258 (85%) and 47 (15%) patients, respectively. On the type of surgery, 58 (19%) patients were submitted to hemithyroidectomy, 201 (66%) to total thyroidectomy, and 46 (15%) to completion thyroidectomy after hemithyroidectomy. The overall complications rate was 14.2%. There was no mortality associated with the procedure. Transitory and permanent palsy of the recurrent laryngeal nerve occurred in 3.8% and 2.0%, respectively. The rate of postsurgical transitory hypocalcemia was 5.7%, and definitive hypoparathyroidism was 2.7%. Surgical reintervention by hemorrhage occurs in 1 patient. The ratio inpatient versus outpatient setting was 164 to 141. Forty-five percent of patients received radioiodine treatment.

Our sample of 305 patients was meaningful to evaluate the outcome of thyroid surgery and our results are similar to international centers. Thyroid surgery is a safe and effective procedure.