BACKGROUND AND AIM: During recent years, more radical surgery for thyroid disease, i.e., total instead of subtotal resection, has been evident. Results following this strategy on national levels are scarce. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2004 to 2006, 26 Scandinavian Departments registered 3,660 thyroid operations in a database. Risk factors for complications were analyzed with multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: After thyroidectomy, re-bleeding occurred in 2.1% and was associated with older age (OR 1.04; p