<bold>The aim of the study</bold> was to evaluate the extent of thyreoidectomy in given years from 1993 to 2006 with the estimation of the occurrence of different types of neoplasmatic lesions in thyroid gland.
<bold>Material and methods.</bold> The study included 3477 patients that underwent thyreoidectomy for nodular disease in above-mentioned period. The data were analyzed in reference to the extent of resection and the type of thyroid nodule.
<bold>Results.</bold> Subtotal resections predominated and constituted 64.82% of all performed thyreoidectomies. The study showed a gradual increase in the number of total resections, from 14.86% in 1993-1996 to 27.33% in 2004-2006. The majority of removed glands revealed defects of almost total nodular degeneration. There was a significant increase in the number of papillary cancer in analyzed period.
<bold>Conclusions.</bold> The profile of thyroid nodules underwent changes pointing out the higher frequency of thyroid cancer in recent years, what affected increased necessity of performing total thyreoidectomies. The more frequent stated total nodular degeneration and radicalization of thyroidectomies may be associated with an observed tendency to prolonged conservative treatment.
