Report

This is the 4th report of the BAETS National Audit details the outcomes of almost 29,000 endocrine surgical procedures accrued since inception of the audit until April 2011.

The data analysis revealed that most thyroid surgery is performed for benign indications; colloid goitre and Graves’ disease together accounting for over 50% of cases. Most thyroid cancer is of papillary subtype and the large majority of cases are Stage 1, however, there is evidence of more advanced T-stage for Hürthle-cell and medullary cancers.

Length-of-stay after thyroid surgery has declined in recent years, with most patients staying in hospital for only 24 hours. True day-case surgery (same-day discharge), however, remains uncommon. Management of hypocalcaemia seems to be a common reason for longer stays. More detail has been included in this report on the utility of imaging, particularly its influence on use of targeted surgery and success rates of surgery (cure of hypercalcaemia). Overall, only around half of cases ultimately have targeted surgery.