The thyroid gland is an organ in our neck that is responsible for the synthesis of thyroid hormone using iodine. In our country, thyroid diseases are common (endemic) due to iodine deficiency, and 40 out of every 100 people have a disease related to the thyroid gland during lifetime.

Diseases originating from the thyroid gland are evaluated in several different groups:

• Thyroiditis: Inflammatory or autoimmune diseases of the thyroid gland which may progress with temporary or permanent hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism.
• Goiter (Diffuse or Nodular): These are diseases in which the thyroid gland grows due to iodine deficiency. If there is an overfunction (Hyperthyroidism) of the thyroid gland they are called "toxic".
• Thyroid Cancers: Cancers arising from cells in the thyroid gland. The most common type is “Papillary Thyroid Cancer” and it constitutes 85% of all thyroid cancers. Less frequently, Follicular, Hürthle cell, Medullary, Poorly differentiated and Anaplastic Thyroid Cancers may also be seen, these types are more aggressive than Papillary Thyroid Cancer.

Among these diseases, Multinodular Goiter is the most common. Thyroid Cancer originating from the thyroid gland is one of the most rapidly increasing cancer types in the world, and it is the second most common cancer type after breast cancer, especially in young female patients.

Thyroid surgery is a surgery that may lead to life-threatening complications due to the important structures and organs adjacent to the thyroid gland. Recurrent nerve injury that functions the vocal cords, damage to the parathyroid glands and bleeding are the main complications in thyroid surgeries, and their incidence varies between 1% and 0.1%. It has been medically proven that these complication rates are lower when surgeries are performed by surgeons specialized in this field, with high experience and annual operating volume. The Turkish Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism also recommends that patients in the risk group, especially cancer, who require a special approach, should be operated by endocrine surgeons who perform more than 100 thyroid surgeries per year.