Surgery of the Thyroid in Children: Current Trends in Practice

Thyroid surgery in the pediatric population is performed for a variety of benign and malignant conditions, including thyroid nodules, hyperthyroidism, goiter, and thyroid cancer. Thyroid nodules, though uncommon in children, are more likely to be malignant than in adults and require careful evaluation with history, imaging, thyroid function tests and often ultrasoundguided biopsy to determine which nodules will require further interventions. The treatment of thyroid malignancy is primarily surgical, though the extent of surgery is an area of active debate. Moreover, thyroid surgery in children may have a higher rate of complications, and a number proposals have been suggested to mitigate these risks. The guidelines developed by the 2015 American Thyroid Association Guidelines Task Force on Pediatric Thyroid Cancer are a helpful tool in directing the medical and surgical management of these complex patients, and provide a method for stratification of patient risk for recurrent disease. Children with thyroid disease are recommended to be cared for using a multidisciplinary approach and by providers and facilities experienced in management of pediatric patients. Surgery should be performed by surgeons experienced in pediatric cervical procedures. The objective of this review is to describe the range of thyroid disease affecting pediatric patients, examine current diagnostic algorithms, and discuss common treatment approaches, including the role for both surgery and adjunctive therapies.