About

Robin Cisco, MD, is a board-certified general surgeon and fellowship-trained endocrine surgeon specializing in surgery of the thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal glands. She has expertise in lymph node dissection for thyroid cancer and focuses on minimally invasive approaches to endocrine surgery. Dr. Cisco received her medical degree from Duke University and completed her general surgery residency at Stanford University, where she also completed a two-year research fellowship in surgical oncology with a focus on cancer immunology. She further specialized through an endocrine surgery fellowship at UCSF, an internationally recognized division. As the Physician Leader of Stanford's Endocrine Oncology Cancer Care Program, Dr. Cisco emphasizes providing outstanding surgical care in a supportive environment for her patients and their families. She is dedicated to patient education and preoperative counseling, aiming to reduce anxiety associated with surgical recommendations. She sees patients at Stanford's Cancer Center South Bay in San Jose and in the Endocrine Oncology and Surgery clinic in Palo Alto. Her professional memberships include active participation in the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, the Association of Women Surgeons, the Pacific Coast Surgical Association, and she is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Surgery
• Internal medicine

Selected publications

• A nurse practitioner–led thyroid nodule clinic reduces barriers to timely evaluation and treatment of thyroid disease

  Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners · 2026-02-23

  articleSenior author

  BACKGROUND: Identification of thyroid nodules has increased over time, presenting a challenge for clinicians and health systems. Care may be delayed and completion of evaluation may require several visit. There may be unnecessary use of fine needle aspiration (FNA) in nodules <1 cm or with very low risk ultrasound features. LOCAL PROBLEM: At our academic institution, thyroid nodule evaluation took on average 109 days and several visits to complete. METHODS: Patients referred for diagnostic evaluation of thyroid nodules before and after establishment of our thyroid nodule clinic (TNC) were identified. For both groups, we analyzed the time from identification of the nodule to completion of the diagnostic evaluation including ultrasound, FNA, and TSH measurement. INTERVENTION: We developed an NP-led TNC. History and physical, thyroid ultrasounds, laboratory evaluation, and FNA were expedited and scheduled for a single visit. Results were discussed with the patient and recommendations sent to the referring provider 1 week later. Results: The mean time from initial patient referral to completion of workup was 19 days after initiation of the TNC. This was improved from 103 days before the initiation of the TNC (p < .01). A total of 98 nodules underwent FNA, and 33 were determined to not require FNA. CONCLUSIONS: An NP-led TNC can decrease wait times for patients and can reduce overtreatment of thyroid nodules. Such a clinic can also expedite patient referral to procedural specialties if additional intervention is needed.

  PublisherDOI

• Utilization of thyroid ultrasound and surgery after glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist prescription

  Surgery · 2026-01-10

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Workforce growth without reach: National trends in access to high-volume parathyroid surgeons

  Surgery · 2026-04-09

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Normocalcemic Hyperparathyroidism: Surgical Intervention Versus Continued Observation

  Difficult decisions in surgery: an evidence-based approach · 2025-01-01

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Lessons from Dr. Norton

  Annals of Surgical Oncology · 2024-02-28 · 1 citations

  editorialOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Evolution of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons Collaborative Endocrine Surgery Quality Improvement Program, CESQIP

  Surgery · 2024-10-16 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Benefits and Risks Associated With Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Thyroid Operations

  Journal of Surgical Research · 2024-08-20 · 2 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Parathyroidectomy and the Development of New Depression Among Adults With Primary Hyperparathyroidism

  JAMA Surgery · 2024-09-04 · 3 citations

  letterOpen access

  Importance: Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a common endocrine disorder associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms. Although parathyroidectomy has been associated with improvement of preexisting depression among adults with PHPT, the effect of parathyroidectomy on the development of new depression is unknown. Objective: To determine the effect of early parathyroidectomy on the incidence of new depression among adults with PHPT compared with nonoperative management. Design, Setting, and Participants: Analyzed data included observational national Veterans Affairs data from adults with a new diagnosis of PHPT from 2000 through 2019 using target trial emulation with cloning, a biostatistical method that uses observational data to emulate a randomized clinical trial. New depression rates were compared between those treated with early parathyroidectomy vs nonoperative management using an extended Cox model with time-varying inverse probability censoring weighting, adjusted for patient demographics, comorbidities, and depression risk factors. Eligible adults with a new biochemical diagnosis of PHPT, excluding those with past depression diagnoses, residing in an assisted living/nursing facility, or with Charlson Comorbidity Index score higher than 4 were included. These data were analyzed January 4, 2023, through June 15, 2023. Exposure: Early parathyroidectomy (within 1 year of PHPT diagnosis) vs nonoperative management. Main Outcome: New depression, including among subgroups according to patient age (65 years or older; younger than 65 years) and baseline serum calcium (11.3 mg/dL or higher; less than 11.3 mg/dL). Results: The study team identified 40 231 adults with PHPT and no history of depression of whom 35896 were male (89%) and the mean (SD) age was 67 (11.3) years. A total of 3294 patients underwent early parathyroidectomy (8.2%). The weighted cumulative incidence of depression was 11% at 5 years and 18% at 10 years among patients who underwent parathyroidectomy, compared with 9% and 18%, respectively, among nonoperative patients. Those treated with early parathyroidectomy experienced no difference in the adjusted rate of new depression compared with nonoperative management (hazard ratio, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.94-1.17). There was also no estimated effect of early parathyroidectomy on new depression in subgroup analyses based on patient age or serum calcium. Conclusions: In this study, there was no difference in the incidence of new depression among adults with PHPT treated with early parathyroidectomy vs nonoperative management, which is relevant to preoperative discussions about the benefits and risks of operative treatment.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Increased Risk of Complications Associated With Concurrent Parathyroidectomy in Patients Undergoing Total Thyroidectomy

  Journal of Surgical Research · 2023-04-10 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  INTRODUCTION: We sought to investigate the association of concurrent parathyroidectomy (PTX) with risks of total thyroidectomy (TTX) through analysis of Collaborative Endocrine Surgery Quality Improvement Program data. TTXis a common operation with complications including recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, neck hematoma, and hypoparathyroidism. A subset of patients undergoing thyroidectomy undergoes planned concurrent PTX for treatment of primary hyperparathyroidism. There are limited data on the risk profile of TTX with concurrent PTX (TTX + PTX). METHODS: We queried the Collaborative Endocrine Surgery Quality Improvement Program database for patients who underwent TTX or TTX + PTX from January 2014 through April 2020. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to predict hypoparathyroidism, vocal cord dysfunction, neck hematoma, and postoperative emergency department visit. Covariates included patient demographics, patient body mass index, indication for surgery, central neck dissection, anticoagulation use, and surgeon volume. RESULTS: Thirteen thousand six hundred forty seven patients underwent TTX and 654 patients underwent TTX + PTX. Unadjusted rates of hypoparathyroidism were higher in TTX + PTX patients at 30 d (9.6% versus 7.4%, P = 0.04) and 6 mo (7.9% versus 3.1%, P < 0.001). On multivariable regression, TTX + PTX was associated with an increased risk of hypoparathyroidism at 30 d (odds ratio [OR] 2.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.57-2.79) and 6 mo (OR 4.63, 95% CI 3.06-7.00) and an increased risk of postoperative emergency department visit (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.20-2.31). TTX + PTX was not associated with recurrent laryngeal nerve injury or neck hematoma. CONCLUSIONS: Concurrent PTX in patients undergoing TTX is associated with increased risk of immediate and long-term hypoparathyroidism, which should be considered in informed consent discussions and operative decision-making.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Disparities in access to high-volume parathyroid surgeons in the United States: A call to action

  Surgery · 2023-11-06 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Electron Kebebew

  Stanford University

  40 shared

• Dana T. Lin

  Stanford University

  39 shared

• Amber W. Trickey

  30 shared

• Insoo Suh

  NYU Langone Health

  29 shared

• Carolyn D. Seib

  Stanford University

  20 shared

• Jeffrey A. Norton

  Stanford University

  17 shared

• Manjula Kurella Tamura

  Stanford University

  14 shared

• Alex H. S. Harris

  Stanford University

  10 shared

Awards & honors

• Fellow, American College of Surgeons (2014 - Present)
• Active Member, American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (2…
• Member, Association of Women Surgeons (2018 - Present)
• Member, Pacific Coast Surgical Association (2017 - Present)