Solitary thyroid nodules are present in 4% to 9% of patients by clinical examination and in 22% of patients by ultrasound in the United States; most are benign (13). Therefore, rather than operating on every patient with a thyroid nodule, the physician or surgeon should select patients for surgery who are at high risk for thyroid cancer. Furthermore, each surgeon must know the complications of thyroidectomy and either be able to perform a proper operation for thyroid cancer in a safe and effective manner or refer the patient to a center where it can be done.