Is euthyroidism the goal of surgical treatment of diffuse toxic goitre?

Objective. To find out by studying a homogeneous group of patients whether euthyroidism is achievable by surgical treatment of diffuse toxic goitre. Design. Retrospective study Setting. Teaching hospital, Italy. Subjects. 128 of the 152 patients operated on for diffuse toxic goitre during the period January 1971-December 1994 and followed up for a median of 83 months (range 6-289). Intervention. Standard subtotal thyroidectomy. Main outcome measures. Operative mortality, recurrence, hypothyroidism and late complications. Results. There were no operative deaths. After 10 years follow up, 11 patients (9%) had developed recurrences and 61 (48%) were euthyroid. In the univariate analysis the risk of hypothyroidism was significantly associated with the year of operation (p = 0.04), the duration of symptoms (p < 0.01), and the degree of lymphocytic infiltration (p < 0.01). The last two were confirmed by multivariate analysis. Conclusion. Subtotal thyroidectomy seems to be an effective treatment of diffuse toxic goitre as a stable euthyroid state can be achieved in nearly half the patients after a prolonged follow up.