Endemic goiter--individual risk factors necessitate individual treatment.

摘要

The current issue of Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery coincides with the annual meeting of the German Association of Endocrine Surgeons (CAEK). Therefore, parts of its contents were selected to highlight urgent topics from endocrine surgery. A focus was placed on endemic nodular goiter-the most frequent endocrine disorder requiring surgical intervention.In an update on state-of-the-art surgical treatment for endemic goiter, Henning Dralle and colleagues compare risks and benefits of total versus subtotal thyroidectomy, and underline the necessity of individualizing the surgical approach according to patient-specific risk factors for disease recurrence and surgical morbidity [1]. Interestingly, as suggested by a clinical study likewise included in this issue [2], long-term quality of life does not seem to be impaired by the extent of thyroid resection. Nonetheless, it is unquestionable that the decision towards a more radical resection approach, while decreasing the risk of recurrence, also increases surgical morbidity-a strong argument in favor of individualized surgical treatment.