Surgical Thyroid Diseases in Men: 61 Cases Studied-Experience of an Ent Department in Senegal

INTRODUCTION: Thyroid disease in men is rare and often associated with an increased risk of malignancy. Surgery remains an effective treatment option. METHODS: This was a retrospective study conducted over a ten-year period from 1 January 2011 to 30 June 2021 on 61 male patients with thyroid gland disease who underwent surgical treatment. RESULTS: The average age was 36 years with an average duration of 4.8 years. Eight patients reported a family history of goitre. Cervical lymphadenopathy was found in 1.6% of patients, exophthalmos in 17 patients (27.8%) and two patients presented signs of compression such as dysphagia and dysphonia. 65.6% of patients were euthyroid. Cervical ultrasound revealed thyroid nodules in 40%, hetero-multi-nodular goitre (HMNG) in 30% and diffuse hypervascular goitre in 30%. The EUTIRADS score was 43% for EUTIRADS 3, 28% for EUTIRADS 4 and 14% for EUTIRADS 1 and 15% for EUTIRADS 5, respectively. Fine needle aspiration was performed in 6 patients. Total thyroidectomy was performed in 85% of cases, with 2 mediastinal-recurrent lymph node dissection for papillary carcinoma and lobo-isthmectomy in 15%. Postoperative complications were minor in 87% of cases. CONCLUSION: Surgical thyroid disease in men is highly diverse and poses challenges for therapeutic management due to the risk of malignancy associated with the male sex.