Finding the best thyroid surgeon is likely the most important task that any person will face when they have been told they have a thyroid cancer or require a thyroid operation. If you need thyroid surgery, then you should do your homework to find the best surgeon for you and your situation. Unfortunately, in the US nearly 95% of thyroid surgery is performed by surgeons who perform less than one thyroidectomy per month. These are called “occasional thyroid surgeons” because they only do thyroid surgery occasionally—most of the time they are doing other types of surgery like gall bladders, breast biopsies, taking out tonsils or putting tubes in kid’s ears.  You will find out more as you review this article why doing one type of surgery and developing a focused surgical skill set and experience is such a critical principle for finding your surgeon.

The best thyroid surgeon will almost always be a high-volume surgeon who performs at least 100 thyroid operations per year. The more thyroid operations performed, the better the surgeon.  Surgeons who perform the highest numbers of thyroid operations annually are almost always the best because their experience allows them to have the lowest complication rates, the best outcomes, and the lowest recurrence rates of thyroid cancer.  Finding a top thyroid surgeon is not a difficult task but you need to do your homework. 

The Top 3 Ways to Find the Best Thyroid Surgeon

1. Ask your thyroid surgeon how many thyroid/ thyroid cancer operations they do every year
2. Ask your thyroid surgeon what percentage of their practice is Thyroid Surgery/ Thyroid Cancer Surgery?
3. Read Reviews of your Thyroid Surgeon. Look at their Google reviews, Healthgrades, Vitals, Rate MDs and other reviews such as Yelp.

#1 Way to Find the Best Thyroid Surgeon:  Ask your thyroid surgeon how many thyroid/ thyroid cancer operations they do every year   

It has been known since the beginning of surgery in the early 1900’s that thyroid surgeons who perform the highest volume of thyroidectomies have the best outcomes. In fact, this is no difference for all types of surgery—from breast cancer to hernia operations.  There is no other parameter that is more important for you to consider when you are looking for the best surgeon, but to find the one that does the most.  The highest volume surgeons will have the most experience.  And experience means everything when it comes to surgery.

Being trained and experienced in breast surgery, sinus surgery, tonsil surgery, appendectomies, head and neck surgery or any other surgery does not make a surgeon a good thyroid surgeon.

It is true that most ENT and general surgeons were exposed to thyroid surgery during their residency—and thus when they are finished with their training, they are allowed to perform thyroid surgery at the hospital where they work.  The hospitals call this “being credentialed”.  Credentialed does not mean that a surgeon is good at something.  It means they have been trained in something (to some degree) and the hospital approves of the doctor doing a particular procedure.  But this does not make them good and it surely does not make them the best. Unfortunately, what typically happens is poorly trained thyroid surgeons in many hospitals then train other surgeons how to perform thyroid surgery and the cycle of inadequately/poorly trained thyroid surgeons multiplies itself. 

An expert thyroid surgeon will always have the same team of experts in the operating room with him/her, assuring the entire team is “expert”.

Without question, surgeons who perform one operation thousands of times have the best possible outcomes. There is, in fact, no end to that learning curve towards excellence. In other words, the more thyroid surgery that a thyroid surgeon performs, the better they will be at the art of thyroid surgery.  Multiple studies in the medical literature are abundantly clear that the risk of complications in thyroid surgery are directly related to the volume of thyroid operations performed.  The best thyroid surgeons will perform at least 400 thyroid operations per year, but there are very few of these in the entire world. At a very minimum, you should not have a thyroid operation by a surgeon who performs less than 100 per year.  If you want the best, and the highest cure rates, then push that number up to 250, or even 400.  At these volumes, after five years, the best thyroid surgeons will perform more thyroid surgery than 99% of all other thyroid surgeons in their lifetime careers. The best thyroid surgeons have the most experience (this is directly related to number of thyroid surgeries), are faster, have less complications, and have the happiest patients. 

#2 Way to Find the Best Thyroid Surgeon:  Ask your thyroid surgeon what percentage of their practice is Thyroid Surgery/ Thyroid Cancer Surgery?

If you think about it, this will make a lot of sense to you when you are looking for the best of anything.  We are in an era of super sub specialization.  The best thyroid surgeon will do one thing (thyroid surgery) and do only one thing to the level of expertise that no one else can do or does.  Does your thyroid surgeon do other types of operations? What percentage of your surgeon’s day is spent performing thyroid surgery?  5%, 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 85%, or 100%?   You need to know, that there may be only 25 or so surgeons in the world who perform thyroid surgery exclusively.  But, you can be assured that those thyroid surgeons that do 100% thyroid surgery will be the top thyroid surgeons in the world—and it isn’t by mistake—those patients were sent to them by other doctors who trust them and know they are the best.

Some of this is just logical.  If you had a super fancy car, you would want your auto mechanic to know that car backwards, forwards, and upside down.  You would want them to have seen everything possible that can happen to that car both frequent and infrequent.  This is the same thing you want from your thyroid surgeon.  If he/she also does appendectomy surgery, gall bladder surgery, tonsil surgery, breast surgery, parotid surgery, or any other operation other than thyroid surgery, they will be far less prepared to care for you as a surgeon dedicated to thyroid surgery only can and will be.

Not all Endocrine Surgeons are Expert Thyroid Surgeons

Thyroid surgeons are often called “endocrine surgeons” because the thyroid gland is part of the endocrine gland system—like the parathyroid glands and adrenal glands.  Even though the glands that control calcium, called the parathyroid glands lay right next to the thyroid gland, the best thyroid surgeons are not the same surgeons that will be the best parathyroid surgeons.  Similarly so, the adrenal glands are often operated on by endocrine surgeons, but the best adrenal surgeons are typically not the best thyroid surgeons.    All of these surgeons are endocrine surgeons but super sub specialization here is the key.  Experience, focus, and volume of operations always remain key.  In the case of scarless or robotic thyroid surgery, that offers expert thyroid surgery without an incision on the neck, the best scarless thyroid surgeons should be sought.

#3 Way to Find the Best Thyroid Surgeon:  Research the online reviews of your thyroid surgeon.

You want the best?  Do a little digging.  You will benefit tremendously by spending a few hours doing homework about different surgeons.  The internet is a valuable resource for information in finding the best thyroid surgeons.  Google reviews, Healthgrades, Vitals, Rate MDs are all valuable sources of information in finding the most capable specialized surgeon for you.  Fully realize, there is no surgeon that can make everyone happy.  To some degree, it is human nature, for individuals to be more vocal on the internet when they are unhappy then when they are happy and content.  Read the reviews carefully.  Top surgeons will surround themselves with healthcare providers that are equally caring, skilled, talented and experienced team members.  Often these reviews will mention other care team members in the reviews.  

Finding the Best Thyroid Surgeon: BONUS: Specialty Training and Thyroid Surgery Publications

Most often, surgeons who have spent their careers focusing on thyroid surgery will have completed a fellowship in thyroid surgery, endocrine surgery or head and neck surgery before specializing in thyroid surgery itself. A “fellowship” is additional surgical training after residency, and can be from 1 to 3 years of additional specialty training.  Thyroid surgeons are often members of specialty surgical societies such as the American Association of Endocrine Surgery, The American Head and Neck Society, The American College of Surgeons, and the American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, to name a few.  The most dedicated and respected thyroid surgeons will likely be members of all of these organizations.  Top thyroid surgeons will often produce publications about thyroid surgery so they can share their knowledge and experience with other similar thyroid surgeons.

Want more information about thyroid surgery and thyroid cancer?  Check out our other blogs and website at ThyroidCancer.com. 

Be sure to check out the Adrenal Blog and Parathyroid Blog from the Hospital for Endocrine Surgery as well.