Complication of thyroidectomy in patients with radiation-induced thyroid neoplasms.

Hypothesis: The complication rate for thyroidectomy is the same in patients with and without a history of radiation exposure.

Design: Retrospective medical record review of 171 consecutive patients who had a previous history of radiation treatment and had undergone a thyroid operation from 1961 to 1999.

Setting: University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center and affiliated hospitals.