The thyroid nodule. View from the community hospital.

Most operative procedures, including those on the thyroid, are performed in community hospitals but reported on from large medical centers. For comparison, therefore, 651 patients who underwent operation for nodular goiter in a community hospital over a twenty-one year period are analyzed. The incidence of carcinoma in patients undergoing operation for nodular goiter increased from 8.7 per cent in the early years to 20.4 per cent in the past four years. The value of frozen section study and thyroid scanning is documented.