Conclusions
I hope that I have persuaded you that a lump in the neck formed of thyroid tissue should not be immediately excised and thrown into a bucket, or, as described by Klein,27 “dropped inadvertently into the mouth of the wolf-hound sitting by the chair of his master, the patient”.
I hope also that I have persuaded some of my audience to take an interest in this fascinating subject, so close to medicine and surgery. For it is possible, if you have an interest, some patience and tolerance, to conduct this surgery as an interesting side-branch to your general surgical work. There are many research problems to satisfy curiosity.
This work does demand a combined medical and surgical approach, and a diagnostic clinic and follow-up clinic held by physicians and surgeons in close association with their colleagues in the laboratories.
From my experience I can assure you that it will broaden and not narrow your outlook, your reward will be the gratitude of your patients and a close and more pleasant acquaintance with your colleagues working in allied fields.
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Being an Abraham Colles Postgraduate Lecture, delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 16th Feb., 1959.
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Hudson, R.V. Selective surgery of the thyroid gland: Diagnosis and procedure. Ir J Med Sci 34, 149–161 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02947944
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02947944