Who should perform thyroid surgery and who should not?

Abstract

This report was prepared to • clarify the markedly increased disputes between the General Surgery Departments and Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS) Departments in respect to thyroid surgery, • to discuss the subject in question in similar way at all institutions and societies of Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT), concerning the 11th decision made by Educational Councils and Program Evaluation Commission of Turkish Board of ORL-HNS at the third meeting held in April 16, 2006, • to put opinions about the report that will be prepared by the Head and Neck Cancers Study Group to be offered to the Board of Directors of Turkish Society of ORL-HNS, and • to discuss and to reply to the claims suggested by Turkish Society of Surgery Board in the article titled “Thyroid Surgery: Who Should Perform?” Our conclusions as suggestions are as follows; what should be done in our country is that; by constructing joint and multidisciplinary commissions under the constitution of; • all concerned societies, associations and institutions representing civilian community (Turkish Association of Physicians, its under-structured Coordinated Committee of Specialty Associations, Turkish Society of Surgery, and Turkish Society of ORL-HNS) • Higher Education Council representing universities and academic life, and • Ministry of Health which is responsible for the execution of health services, • moreover, by taking opinions and views from independent international (Western European and Northern American) institutions and organizations (such as Union Européenne des Médecins Specialistes-UEMS), the following questions should be answered: i. Who can give education for this surgery (no matter whether they are originally general surgeons or ENT physicians)? ii. In which centers, this surgical education can be given? iii. Which physicians can perform this surgery (no matter whether they are originally general surgeons or ENT physicians)? In other words, the term “Thyroid Surgeon” should be defined, and iv. In what kind of centers,

Keywords

• thyroid surgery
• general surgery
• endocrine surgery
• otorhinolaryngology
• head and neck surgery
• thyroid surgeon