Local anesthesia with monitored anesthesia care for patients undergoing thyroidectomy: a case series

Because the current trend favors minimally invasive surgery for thyroid disease, increasing interest has developed for thyroidectomy under local anesthesia with monitored anesthesia care (MAC). Here, we retrospectively reviewed 18 cases of thyroidectomy performed under local anesthesia with MAC in a single center. All of the procedures were performed by a single surgeon, using local lidocaine infiltration around the incisional site and propofol plus remifentanil target-controlled infusion. Sore throat (4/18), hypocalcemia (1/18), and transient voice color change (1/18) were observed, but the patients recovered during the follow-up period. No cases of postoperative nausea and vomiting, hematoma, wound problems, or vocal cord paralysis were observed. Local anesthesia with MAC provided satisfactory sedation in most patients without conversion to general anesthesia.