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Background: Thyroid surgery has been traditionally viewed as a procedure necessitating hospitalization of patients. There is a small but growing body of literature demonstrating the safety and efficacy of outpatient thyroid surgery. Objectives/Design: Based on a review of the literature and a description of the protocol used to identify patients who are candidates for outpatient procedures, complications associated with the management of these patients are discussed. Setting: Teritary referral otolaryngology practice within a community hospital. Results: The study period included 247 thyroid surgeries, of which 94 were completed on an outpatient basis. No complications were identified in the outpatient group. Conclusions: Outpatient subtotal thyroidectomy is safe and effective. It has not been shown to increase postoperative complication rates. The practice of outpatient thyroid surgery can be of financial benefit to the Canadian health care system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]