Variations of venous drainage of the thyroid gland and their surgical implications: a narrative review

Diseases of the thyroid are common worldwide, so knowledge of its normal and variant anatomy, especially of the veins of thyroid, is essential for safe and successful surgery involving the anterolateral neck. The aim of this study is to consolidate all information related to venous drainage of the thyroid gland as a ready reference for vascular and endocrine surgeons. The study was conducted at the Department of Anatomy and the literature search was carried out using the Pubmed, Scielo, Researchgate, Medline, and Scopus databases. Various terms related to the thyroid gland and its venous drainage were used to explore the literature. The literature review revealed that the superior and middle thyroid veins have the fewest variations in terms of course and termination while the inferior thyroid vein has the most variations in terms of course and termination. Detailed knowledge of normal and variant anatomy of the thyroid veins is of utmost use for vascular surgeons performing anterolateral neck surgery, especially tracheostomy, a lifesaving procedure, minimizing intraoperative and postoperative complications and morbidity and mortality.