Background and aims  

Partial thyroidectomy under local anaesthesia was performed in 49 subsequent individuals in the Central African Republic. Because of the shortage of medical resources, all patients with goitre were scheduled for an operation under local anaesthesia.

Materials and methods  

There were no inclusion or exclusion criteria applied for patient selection for the procedure. Before the operation, patients had received an oral sedation and antibiotic. For infiltration anaesthesia, 1% lignocaine was used.

Results  

Subtotal bilateral thyroidectomy was performed in 37 patients; 12 patients underwent lobectomy or partial lobectomy of the affected portion of the gland. There were no intraoperative complications in any of the patients. The mean time of the procedure averaged 127 min. There were no postoperative complications noticed in the reported group, and this includes also complications related to laryngeal nerve injury. General condition of the operated on patients allowed for full self-dependency within 4 to 6 h postoperatively. Patients remained under medical surveillance for mean 3 days, and cutaneous stitches were removed on the first postoperative day. General condition of all patients on the day of discharge from hospital was good.

Conclusion  

Surgery for goitre under local anaesthesia may be a safe alternative where general anaesthesia is not available or contraindicated for medical reasons.