• Giovanni Conzo, Francesco Stanzione, Cristina Della Pietra, Antonietta Palazzo, Giuseppe Candilio, Alfonso Fiorelli, and Mario Santini.
• VII Division of General Surgery, Dipartimento di scienze Anestesiologiche, Chiruriche e dell'Emergenza, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy. giovanni.conzo@unina2.it
• Ann Ital Chir. 2012 May 1; 83 (3): 259-64.

BackgroundThyroidectomy is considered a low-risk operation. The authors report a case of tracheal necrosis after total thyroidectomy for multinodular goiter with bilateral adenomas, and a case of oesophageal fistula after total thyroidectomy for papillary cancer.Methods And ResultsThe patient with tracheal perforation was treated by a non operative management after clinical stabilization. The patient with oesophageal perforation underwent surgical treatment consisting of neck drain placement. Both patients are alive after 12 months of follow-up, although the patient who had surgery for papillary cancer of the thyroid gland was found to have multiple diffuse liver and lung metastases.ConclusionsThyroidectomy is a safe surgical procedure, but in some patients major complications may arise. In cases of iatrogenic tracheal or oesophageal perforation, conservative non-surgical or conservative surgical treatment, in specialized centers, results in a favourable outcome. The authors discuss the risk factors and management of these two rare complications.

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