A complication of thyroidectomy: Do not forget suture reaction

Özet

Objective: In this study, we aimed to present patients who have developed suture reaction and were treated in ourclinic following thyroidectomy operation.Material and Methods: Patients who had been treated for suture reaction following thyroidectomy between January2012 and December 2014 were retrospectively evaluated. The patients were analyzed in terms of their age, gender,duration of the symptoms, type of previous operation and treatment modality.Results: Between January 2012 and December 2014, 559 thyroid/parathyroid operations were performed in ourclinic. A total of 12 patients were admitted with suture reaction within this period thus yielding a suture reactionincidence of 2.1%. The mean age of these patients was 42±7.65 years, 75% of them were female while 25% of themwere male. The types of previous operations were bilateral total thyroidectomy in 83.3%, lobectomy in 8.3% andnear total thyroidectomy in 8.3% of the patients. The mean symptom duration was 7.2±4.3 (2-16) months. Twopatients (16.7%) underwent a second surgical operation for suture reaction, while 10 patients (83.3%) were treatedconservatively. None of the patients developed complications.Conclusion: One of the most common complications that develop after thyroidectomy is bleeding. Ligation mustbe performed in order to prevent this complication. As it is known, surgical ligation with sutures may cause tissuereaction. Sutures that are absorbable and have a low risk for reaction formation should be chosen if suturing ispreferred.