Combined Total Thyroidectomy and Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: An Endocrine Surgeon Perspective | Insight Medical Publishing

When thyroid enlargement and coronary artery disease occur together, both are not necessarily operated at the same time. Nevertheless, combined thyroidectomy and coronary arterial bypass grafting (CABG) have been reported to be feasible and safe. The decisions on whether to do the operations concurrently and how exactly the operations should be performed were not clearly explained. We present a case of coronary artery disease which complicated with presence of multinodular goitre. We explain how we performed the combined thyroidectomy and CABG and provide relevant important points pertaining to the operations. In conclusion, when combining thyroidectomy and cardiac bypass surgery, performing thyroid dissection before heparinization and thus CABG, could be a wiser decision as it associated with less bleeding in the neck wound and has a better chance of avoiding complications related to the thyroidectomy.