Day Case Hemithyroidectomy: Over the Years.
Abstract
KEY POINTS: 1. COVID19 has mandated many changes to secondary care since
declaration of the pandemic in 2019. Reducing the exposure of the
hospital setting to patients to a minimum is therefore not only in the
best interests of individual patients but also the public. 2. A steady
increase in the percentage of same-day discharges of hemithyroidectomy
cases has been observed over the past 3 years, with very few
post-operative complications. 3. The inferences made from this
communication propose that hemithyroidectomy operations can be carried
out safely as day case procedures under otolaryngology departments in a
district general setting. 4. Patients no longer require a drain inserted
at the end of a hemithyroidectomy procedure provided adequate
haemostasis has been achieved. 5. Hemithyroidectomy procedures should be
prioritised as earlier on the operating list to ensure adequate time for
observation in recovery and ample time for the discharge process to be
completed to achieve same-day discharge.