Cervical Approach to Substernal Goiter: Do we Need Sternotomy? Cerrahpasa Experience

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical and surgical differences between substernal goiter and non substernal goiter according to institutional experience. Material and Method: Twenty-nine patients with substernal goiter and 62 randomly chosen non substernal goiter patients from January 2009 to October 2012 were compared retrospectively according to their pre-operative and post-operative data. Cervical approached total thyroidectomy was applied to patients with substernal goiter. Results: Thirteen of twenty-nine substernal goiter patients were male (44.8%) and 16 were female (55.2%). Body mass index, age, gender in both groups were compared and found to be similar. No post-operative complication was observed. Pathology results revealed malignancy in 24.1%of patients. Discussion: Patients with substernal goiter can be safely treated through the cervical approach with low complication rates in expert hands.