What question did this study set out to answer?

To investigate how surgical volume and the presence of specialists affect thyroidectomy outcomes in Brazil.

April 17, 2026Sao Paulo Medical Journal0 citationsOpen Access

Impact of surgical volume and specialist availability on thyroidectomy outcomes in Brazil: an ecological study with a nationwide retrospective analysis of 230,345 cases (2008–2023)

RERicardo Yugi EriHospital Israelita Albert Einstein LMLeandro Luongo MatosHospital Israelita Albert Einstein MTMarcelo Passos TeivelisHospital Israelita Albert Einstein

Key Points

To investigate how surgical volume and the presence of specialists affect thyroidectomy outcomes in Brazil.
Nationwide retrospective analysis of 230,345 thyroidectomy cases from 2008 to 2023
Categorization of hospitals based on annual thyroidectomy volume (fewer than 10, 10-25, and above)
Assessment of mortality rates associated with different surgical volumes
Mortality significantly higher in hospitals performing fewer than 25 thyroidectomies annually
This mortality difference diminished when excluding very low-volume hospitals performing fewer than 10 procedures
Findings indicate the need for centralization of thyroid surgeries to improve patient outcomes

Abstract

Mortality increased significantly in very low-volume hospitals performing fewer than 25 thyroidectomies per year; however, this difference was no longer observed after excluding hospitals that performed fewer than 10 interventions per year. These results support restricting thyroidectomies to hospitals performing at least 10 procedures annually and promoting centralization to improve outcomes. Structured regionalization policies are needed to ensure equitable access to specialized surgical care across Brazil.

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