["Achilles' heel" in thyroid surgery].

Experienced multivalent surgeons are well aware that any operation has its own Achilles heel. In surgery for cholelithiasis, this is a risk of damage to the bile duct, in surgery for varicose veins - the femoral vein, in surgery for the colon and rectum - the ureter, in cardiac surgery - the ascending aorta, and in surgery for the thyroid gland - the recurrent laryngeal nerve.