Who is the best thyroid surgeon in America?

If you learn that you need thyroid surgery, you will want to find the best thyroid surgeon that you can find. That can make you ask: who is the best thyroid surgeon in the world. Let's try to answer that question with some data.

First, we need to define what it means to be the best thyroid surgeon in the world. Do you mean the one with the best bedside manner? (what if they are a horrible technical surgeon?) Do you mean the best thyroid surgeon is the one who has the fewest complications? (what if they only do easy cases?) Do you mean the best thyroid surgeon is the one who publishes the most academic papers? (what if they never actually operate?) Is the best thyroid surgeon the one that your insurance pays for and your family doctor sent you to? (what if they rarely do thyroid surgery?) Will the best thyroid surgeon in your state have the most treatment options? Each of these could reasonably be understood to be the "best thyroid surgeon in the world" in that specific area. So first you need to decide what it means to you.

For most patients with thyroid problems, the main concern is reducing the complication rate and ensuring that postoperative quality of life is excellent.

The research suggests that the best thyroid surgeon will do the following:

1- the best thyroid surgeon in America will do at least 100 thyroid surgeries each year.

2- the best thyroid surgeon in the World will have done thousands of thyroid surgeries in their life (trying to get to 10,000 hours to become a master surgeon!)

3- the best thyroid surgeon in Maryland, DC, or any state will be old enough to have experience, but not so old as to begin to lose dexterity.

4- the best thyroid surgeon in the world will be a dedicated thyroid surgeon- instead of doing lots of other things.

5- the best thyroid surgeon for you will be someone you can talk to and feel comfortable with.

6- the best thyroid surgeon will do both very challenging cases and very simple cases- and know which is which.

7- the best thyroid surgeon will have the lowest complication rate for benign cases- and know when to be aggressive in cases of aggressive cancer.

And then there are a few extra things that don't have research to support them, but seem to make sense:

8- the best thyroid surgeon will be involved in cutting edge developments- but spend most of their time treating patients with thyroid problems instead of doing research.

9- the best thyroid surgeon in America will offer you multiple options for treatment, and be with you all the way through your recovery.

10- the best thyroid surgeon for you will be someone who you can get in to see quickly so that you can begin the treatment process.

11- the best thyroid surgeon in the world may vary depending on your type of cancer (some surgeons spend more time with anapestic cancer, and others spend more time with papillary cancer or benign conditions such as Graves' disease. Each is unique).

(You might have noticed that I didn't mention publications/books/research, academic affiliation with big name hospitals, teaching of trainees, professional rank or anything else. As a person who has done all of that, I am convinced that those things matter very little when I choose a surgeon for myself. Instead, they just stand in as a surrogate for ensuring that a person is well trained and that any significant red flags have been identified).

So how do you find the best thyroid surgeon in Virginia, the best thyroid surgeon in Pennsylvania, or the best thyroid surgeon in America?

Again, let's consider some options. Some of this will depend on your ability to travel, but most patients should be able to see an excellent thyroid surgeon (and find the best thyroid surgeon for their specific situation). This is especially true now that telemedicine options exist.

A- recommendations from your insurance company. (ideally, they would want you to see the best surgeon, because that will reduce complications and save them money. But they usually want to send you to someone who accepts the lowest rate that they are willing to pay. Surgery from the lowest bidder is maybe not an ideal way to find a surgeon!)

B- recommendation from your primary care doctor. (this can be good, but only if your doctor is well informed on the topic or has had other patients work with that surgeon)

C- recommendation from an endocrinologist. (this is much better, because an endocrinologist usually sends many more patients for thyroid surgery and so they get an idea of who does a good job. But you have to be careful, as most of them will only recommend someone in their network, and many of them have been sending to the same person for decades and might not have kept up with the newest techniques).

D- a nurse in the hospital. This is BY FAR the best way to find a thyroid surgeon. Nurses see all and know all. Ask them who they want to do their surgery.

E- online sleuthing. This can be valuable, especially when it comes to online forums, but it is also true that these forums are subject to all sorts of bias.

And finally, F- anyone who gives you a recommendation for thyroid surgery, ask them who they would go see if they needed thyroid surgery. At the end of the day, that's the recommendation that really matters.

At the Russell Center, we pride ourselves in being among the best places in the world for you to have thyroid surgery. We have experience, offer a diverse array of options (both surgical and non-surgical), have the lowest complication rates in the country, and we are immediately accessible. When you are trying to decide where to have your surgery, make sure to invest the time needed to get answers to questions. Find the best thyroid surgeon in the world for you!