Regional neck metastases in well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma (WDTC) are relatively frequent. The prognostic effects of lymph node (LN) metastases remain controversial. However, it is well known that lateral LN metastasis is related to the recurrence of the disease. In general, when lateral neck LN metastasis is confirmed in WDTC patients, therapeutic lateral neck dissection is recommended. However, the optimal surgical extent of therapeutic lateral neck dissection in WDTC patients with clinical lateral LN metastasis is not clearly presented. Traditional comprehensive neck dissection including level II, III, IV and V even in patients with minimal lateral neck metastases may not be reasonable when considering both oncologic safety and functional aspects. There is controversy whether it is always necessary to perform level II and V LN dissection for all WDTC patients with clinical lateral LN metastasis. This is due to the fact that the likelihood of postoperative complications by the damage of the spinal accessory nerve increases with level II and level V dissection. Therefore, many studies have been reported on the possibility of omitting levels II (especially IIb) and V during therapeutic comprehensive lateral neck dissection.However, there have been no definite conclusions about it, and it is still debate. In this article, we reviewed to find out optimal lateral neck dissection range for WDTC patients with clinical lateral neck metastasis.

Conflicting research results have been reported regarding the influence of lymphovascular invasion as a prognostic factor for recurrence of papillary thyroid cancer, and thus, it is continuously discussed. This systematic review and meta-analysis identified an association between recurrence rate and histological lymphatic or vascular invasion in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma. Clinical data and outcomes were collected from MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and KoreaMed. Selection criteria included studies reporting local or distant recurrence rates according to histological lymphatic or vascular invasion in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma. Twelve observational studies were included in this study. When vascular invasion was confirmed histologically in patients with papillary thyroid cancer, the local recurrence rate was odds ratio 2.544 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.469-4.407) compared to the patient group without vascular invasion, and the distant recurrence rate was 5.126 (95% CI, 2.853-9.212). The correlation between lymphatic invasion and recurrence rate could not be analyzed. As a result, this systematic review and meta-analysis confirmed that histological vascular invasion affects the rate of local or distant recurrence in patients with papillary thyroid cancer. Therefore, the presence of histological vascular invasion must be evaluated in patients with papillary thyroid cancer.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The reconstruction of surgical defects in head and neck cancer patients requires thorough anatomical knowledge and considerable clinical experiences, hence it is a demanding job for un-experienced reconstructive surgeons. We evaluated the appropriateness and the surgical outcome of a one-year experience of head and neck reconstruction carried out in a tertiary hospital setting. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: We performed a retrospective review of the medical records of 73 patients who underwent reconstructive surgery at the Otolaryngology Department and Plastic Surgery from January, 2012 to September, 2016. RESULTS: Twenty-eight of 42 patients underwent free-flap reconstruction, including anterolateral thigh, radial forearm, or fibula free-flap by a head and neck surgeon. The rest of the patients underwent pedicled-flap surgery including pectoralis major or latissimus dorsi myocutanous flap. The mean operation time was 209.5 minutes and an average of 1.2 days intensive care unit- and 37.2 days of hospital stay were required in the free-flap cases. The flap failure happened in three patients, two in free-flap and one in pedicled flap. These surgical outcomes were comparable to those of the plastic surgery patient group. CONCLUSION: The technical appropriacy and acceptable outcome of head and neck reconstruction by head and neck surgeons was proven in this investigation. We propose that reconstructive surgery should be performed by head and neck surgeons as they could reduce operation time or complications because of their familiarity with complex surgical anatomy and early decision making competency.
Critical Care ; Decision Making ; Fibula ; Forearm ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; Head* ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Medical Records ; Methods ; Neck* ; Otolaryngology ; Recognition (Psychology) ; Retrospective Studies ; Superficial Back Muscles ; Surgeons ; Surgery, Plastic ; Surgical Flaps ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Thigh

Schwannoma, also known as neurilemmoma, is a benign neoplasm that originates from any nerves wrapped with a sheath made of Schwann cells. Schwannoma occurring in the head and neck region is not rare, but schwannomas of the anterior neck, especially ansa cervicalis, are extremely rare that only 7 cases have been reported to date worldwide. Although rare, it should be considered in differential diagnosis of anterior cervical mass and may be confused with other cervical and thyroid mass. We report a case of intramuscular schwannoma in the sternohyoid muscle. Preoperative diagnosis was established with an ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy. Although it was removed entirely without connection to any other nerves identified or any complication, clinically, the mass was thought to be derived from the nerve. To our knowledge, this is the first case of the intramuscular schwannoma occurring from ansa cervicalis reported in the literature.

Osseous choristoma is a rare, benign proliferative osseous lesion, which is defined as the growth of normal tissue in an abnormal location. The etiopathogenesis for its formation is unknown, but various hypotheses have been proposed. Treatment of choice is en-bloc resection, and no recurrence has been reported. Here, we report the two cases of osseous choristoma, presented with a mass on the base of the tongue with/without globus symptom and were treated with surgical excision.
Choristoma ; Osteoma ; Recurrence ; Tongue

Blueberry muffin rashes occur in various diseases including TORCH syndrome, transfusion reactions, leukemia, hereditary spherocytosis and neonatal sepsis. We report a case of congenital CMV(cytomegalovirus) infection showing blueberry muffin skin lesions which revealed dermal erythropoiesis. Even though these cutaneous findings were nonspecific, they could provide a valuable clue in approach the congenital viral infection in the perinatal period.
Blueberry Plant ; Erythropoiesis* ; Exanthema ; Leukemia ; Sepsis ; Skin* ; Transfusion Reaction