The importance of overspecialization in endocrine surgery

Historically, the surgeon has gone from being a generalist , in charge of performing all kinds of interventions, to a specialist in certain anatomical or functional parts.. This evolution has continued and at this moment we can already talk about superspecializations for which the doctor, without forgetting the patient as a whole, attends and knows more in depth the diseases.

This surgical superspecialization allows to cover the knowledge. Nowadays, in any science, the large amount of existing knowledge makes it difficult for the professional to cover it, with the consequent deficit in the possible attention. On the other hand, speaking of surgical interventions , where manual experience is essential, the greater frequency in the performance of certain interventions will lead to a greater safety and efficacy of the same, less postsurgical complications and better results, both medical and hospital stay. .

Regarding the complications that can arise in thyroid and parathyroid surgery , my specialty, the most important ones to consider are the suffocating hematoma , hypoparathyroidism and mainly the dysphonia due to injury of the nerves that mobilize the vocal cords. The last two can condition an important alteration of the important quality of life of the patient, so it is necessary to try to minimize them.

Speaking specifically about the endocrine surgery plot, Spain is at the same level as other centers of international prestige in which I have excelled myself throughout my professional career. It is not so much a need for means, which are also, as of knowledge and surgical technique.

The humanistic side of the profession

In my medical work is very important the humanistic aspect of the profession, because they help to know the man. When a patient knows the news that he suffers from a disease that requires surgical treatment, he simultaneously receives two major aggressions to his existential situation, one in terms of the sudden rupture that this implies on his life in society, mainly family. The second, as for himself, because he will have to face a situation, in many cases unknown, to enter an operating room and leave in the hands of strangers nothing less than his own life. It is a time when feelings of fear, weakness or rejection appear and deteriorate life. Therefore, a doctor , by great technical training that has, will always be away from true professional excellence if you do not share an empathy towards the person who comes to ask for their help .

As a professor at a university school, I believe that the teachers' job is to transmit to the students health knowledge and integrate their performance in the patient. This is constantly tried and emphasized, not only from the classrooms but also from the health centers where they do their internships. However, like all human actions, this attention depends on each person and can always be improved.