Thyroid surgery safe for older patients

AUGUSTA, Ga., Oct. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers found thyroid surgery in older patients had similar results to surgery in younger patients.

The researchers looked at 428 thyroidectomy patients including 44 patients age 65 and older and 86 patients ages 21-35.

The study, published in the Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery, found similar rates of outpatient surgery -- 45.5 percent in the elderly and 51.2 percent in younger patients -- similar complication rates and no post-operative bleeding or or permanent vocal cord paralysis.

"We were pleasantly surprised," first author Dr. Melanie Seybt of the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta said in a statement. "We suspected older patients might be admitted to the hospital more often, have more complications and more cancer."

Seybt said elderly patients had a slightly higher hospital readmission rate -- 4.5 percent versus 1.2 percent -- but the readmissions were related to the transient problems with calcium levels not age-related complications.