Does Potassium Iodide (SSKI) Reduce Vascularity in Graves' Thyroidectomy?

Patients with Graves' disease and goiters tend to have very vascular thyroid glands, which increases operative bleeding risks/rates. Many surgeons treat these patients with preoperative SSKI which is believed to decrease the vascularity, which in turn may decrease bleeding risks. However, there has been no quantitative data published on whether this is a real effect with true clinical benefit, in either animal or human models with SSKI. There have been some studies in Europe studying Lugol's solution, a different formulation of iodine, which show some decreased vascularity using color Doppler or measurements of CD34 cells.

Primary Outcome Measures

1. Change in Vascular Flow From Baseline
   Using 3D imaging software, the investigators will quantify the vascular flow in the ultrasound images and compare baseline images with the operating room (OR) images to assess if there is a difference in vascular flow between those timepoints. Vascular flow will be quantified using percent (%) surface area. This calculation will be done by a computer algorithm.