RFA, Robotic Surgery & the Future of Thyroid Care: Dr. Eren Berber
What does the future of thyroid care look like when the person describing it helped build the present?
Dr. Eren Berber is a Professor of Surgery and Director of Robotic Endocrine Surgery at Cleveland Clinic. He performed some of the first robotic thyroid operations in the United States, brought thyroid RFA to Ohio, and has authored more than 350 scientific papers. He has spent his entire career at the forefront of thyroid innovation — and in this episode, he gives one of the most candid, comprehensive assessments of the current treatment landscape that Save Your Thyroid with Jennifer Holkem has ever aired.
He's not selling any single approach. He performs conventional thyroidectomy, robotic surgery, and RFA — all at high volume. And his honest take on all three will surprise you.
On robotic surgery: the only real advantage is avoiding a scar in the neck. Outcomes are not superior to conventional surgery. He pioneered it and he'll tell you that himself.
On ablation: he was skeptical initially. Four years of personally following every patient he treated changed his mind entirely. Over 90% success rate in his first 100 patients, less than 5% complications, and hot nodules returning to normal thyroid function within a month.
On the future: ablation technologies are evolving faster than most patients realize. A nanopulse ablation clinical trial is launching. AI is being incorporated into thyroid surgery. And the ATA guidelines now formally include ablation as a standard procedure for appropriate patients.
On insurance calling RFA investigational: FDA cleared since 2018, CPT billing code active since 2025, guidelines updated. That excuse, in his words, is on borrowed time.
In this episode:
- Why robotic thyroid surgery is not necessarily better than conventional surgery — from the surgeon who pioneered it
- How Dr. Berber counsels patients between ablation and surgery
- Why treating nodules earlier — while they're still small — produces dramatically better outcomes
- Cleveland Clinic's outcomes from their first 100 RFA patients
- How to navigate a large institution and get to the right expert
- The nanopulse ablation trial coming to Cleveland Clinic
- Why 98% of thyroid surgeons in the US are not high volume — and why that matters
- How to look up your surgeon's published outcomes on PubMed before your appointment
Find Dr. Berber: clevelandclinic.org — search Dr. Eren Berber and contact his office directly. Telehealth consultations available for out-of-state patients.
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