PURPOSE: Central compartment reoperation for recurrent thyroid carcinoma is challenging to surgeons due to the scar tissues and adhesions and the distortion of the normal anatomic relationships. This study was carried out to investigate the central neck recurrence patterns and the surgical morbidity of reoperation for patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma. METHODS: The study population was comprised 68 papillary thyroid carcinoma patients (15 males and 53 females, median age: 50.8 years [range: 12~78 years]) who underwent reoperation for recurrent tumors in the central compartment of the neck between January 1999 and June 2007. All of the patients had undergone prior total thyroidectomy. RESULTS: Of the 68 patients, 21 recurrences occurred in the proper thyroid tissue of the thyroid bed, 43 in the central neck nodes and 4 in a combination of the central nodes and proper thyroid tissue. The common recurrent site from the proper thyroid tissue were at the berry ligaments and at the level of the upper one-third of the recurrent laryngeal nerves, while the common nodal recurrence sites were the lower-most portion of the paratracheal nodes and the right paraesophageal nodes (the lymph nodes posterior to the right recurrent laryngeal nerve). Eleven cases of transient hypocalcemia (17.5%, 11/63) and 3 cases of permanent hypocalcemia (4.3%, 3/63) were noted after reoperation. Recurrent laryngeal nerve injury occurred in 5 patients (8.1%, 5/62), but three of them were intentionally resected with the recurrent cancers. CONCLUSION: Reoperation for central neck recurrence of papillary thyroid carcinoma is associated with a higher complication rate. Meticulous surgical dissection of the central compartment based on the recurrent patterns is important to reduce injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerves and parathyroid glands.
Carcinoma ; Cicatrix ; Female ; Fruit ; Humans ; Hypocalcemia ; Intention ; Ligaments ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Neck ; Recurrence ; Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve ; Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Injuries ; Reoperation ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms

PURPOSE: Follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) is a relatively rare form of thyroid carcinoma that often presents at a more advanced stage of disease with a higher incidence of distant metastases because of its propensity for vascular invasion. However, FTC and papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) have similar prognoses when they are matched for age and stage. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the useful prognostic factors and determine the optimal management of FTC. METHODS: This study was conducted on 216 patients with FTC who underwent thyroidectomy at our institutions between April 1986 and August 2006. The patients included 174 women and 42 men with a mean age of 41 (4~87) years, and patients underwent follow-up evaluation for a mean period of 114 (6~253) months. The potential risk factors for treatment outcome were calculated using multivariate analysis, and the prognostic accuracy of UICC/AJCC pTNM staging, AMES, AGES, MACIS, and Degroot classification for predicting survival were compared. RESULTS: During the follow-up period, 13 (6.0%) patients developed locoregional recurrences and 8 patients (3.7%) showed distant metastases. In addition, cause specific mortality was seen in 8 patients (3.7%). The overall survival and cause-specific survival (CSS) rates at 10 years were 95.4% and 89.3%, respectively, and these cases were accurately predicted by the AMES and pTNM staging systems. The Cox proportional hazards revealed that gender (P=0.015), angioinvasion (P=0.013), invasion to adjacent structure (P=0.003), widely invasive carcinoma (P=0.028), and distant metastases at the time of presentation (P<0.001) were independent prognostic factors for survival. CONCLUSION: The extent of surgery in cases of FTC should be individualized based on the clinicopathologic findings; Conservative surgery should be adequate for cases of minimally invasive FTC without angioinvasion, however total or near-total thyroidectomy should be conducted in cases of widely invasive and minimally invasive FTC with angioinvasion.
Adenocarcinoma, Follicular ; Carcinoma ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Risk Factors ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroidectomy ; Treatment Outcome

PURPOSE: Subacute thyroiditis (SAT) is an uncommon, self-lemiting inflammatory disorder. If clinicians cannot rule out thyroid cancer in SAT patients with a thyroid nodule, surgical management can be considered. This study was performed to review the clinical characteristics of patients who were treated surgically for SAT presenting with thyroid nodule. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical features of 14 cases who underwent an operation for SAT with a thyroid nodule between January 1986 and May 2006 at our institution. RESULTS: There were 3 male and 11 female patients, with a mean age of 47 years. All patients underwent surgical management prior to 1998. Twelve patients had thyroidal pain, 6 had viral prodromal symptoms, and 5 had hyperthyroidisms. Preoperative erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESRs) (n=4) were elevated in 3 patients. Decreased uptake of radioiodine was reported in all 6 patients for whom scans were performed (n=6). Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) was performed in 4. In this study, the operative indications were clinically indeterminate thyroid nodule (n=14); lobectomy in 8, lobectomy with partial thyroidectomy in 2, lobectomy with near total thyroidectomy in 2, and bilateral total thyroidectomy in 2. Hoarseness occurred in one patient. CONCLUSION: SAT is usually managed clinically, but patients presenting with an indeterminate thyroid nodule will require surgical management even though they may have more benign characteristics. Most surgeons have to wait for the results of frozen biopsy because limited resectioning can be performed if the results are benign.
Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Blood Sedimentation ; Female ; Hoarseness ; Humans ; Male ; Prodromal Symptoms ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgeons ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroid Nodule ; Thyroidectomy ; Thyroiditis, Subacute*

PURPOSE: The clinical importance of papillary microcarcinoma (PTMC) is debatable. Because PTMC is being diagnosed with increasing frequency, it is important to describe the clinical and histological characteristics that confer aggressive behavior to this cancer. This study was carried out to evaluate the clinical and histological characteristics of PTMC and to determine an appropriate treatment strategy for such cases. METHODS: From Jan. 2000 to Dec. 2005, 1,255 patients with small papillary carcinoma, which measured less than 2.0 cm in its greater dimension, underwent total thyroidectomy at our institution. Among these patients, 633 (50.4%) had a thyorid carcinoma less than or equal to 1 cm in diameter (Group A). The clinicopathologic features and treatment outcome of these patients were evaluated and compared with the remaining 622 cases (49.6%) (Group B). RESULTS: For the patients with PTMC (Group A), there were 70 men and 563 women with a median age of 44 years (range; 12~86). During a mean follow-up of 32.5+/-18.2 months, 6 patients (0.9%) developed locoregional recurrences and 3 patients (0.5%) showed distant metastases. There was no disease-related mortality in both groups. The disease of group B was more likely to show extracapsular invasion (P < 0.001), invasion to adjacent structures (P < 0.001), and lateral neck node metastasis (P < 0.001) than that of group A. However, there were no significant differences in multifocality (P=0.189), bilaterality (P=0.203), the locoregional recurrence rate (P=0.065) and the distant meta-stasis rate (P=0.325) between the two groups. On multivariate analysis, locoregional recurrent disease was associated with central lymph node metastases (P=0.033) and lateral neck node metastases (P=0.022). CONCLUSION: Despite PTMC having less aggressive clinicopathologic parameters as compared with clinical cancer (>1 cm), some PTMCs show aggressive clinical behavior and locoregional recurrence. The treatment of PTMC should be individualized based on its tumor risk profiles and the clinical presentations. Moreover, performing close follow-up is essential, especially for those patients who present with cervicolateral lymph node metastases.
Carcinoma, Papillary ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Mortality ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neck ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroidectomy ; Treatment Outcome

Tularemia is a zoonosis caused by Francisella tularensis. It is primarily a disease of wild animals. Human infection is incidental and usually results from interaction with biting or blood-sucking insect, wild or domestic animals or the environment. It is common in United States. An increasing number of cases have been reported from the Scandinavian countries, eastern Europe, Siberia, and Japan. But In Korea it has not been reported. A 40-year old male visited the department of Surgery on Jan 13, 1997 complaining multiple swollen lymph-nodes on his axillae and upper right arm for about ten days. On Dec 25, 1996, he found a dead wild rabbit at mountainside nearby, cooked it himself and ate it with his friends. He informed us that he got light injury on both hands while he was walking on the mountainside. On Dec 28, he started to suffer from high fever, fatigue and loss of appetite lasting for a day. After medication at a local clinic for several day, symptoms were somewhat relieved. A week later(Jan 4, 1997), several erythematous lesions developed on his both hands, which left ulcerations on the skin. Both axillary lymph nodes were swollen at both sides, but not tender. He visited the department of surgery on Jan 13 and he admitted on Jan 15. During hospitalization, the lymph nodes were surgically removed from both axillae and upper left arm. On microbiologic examination, small aerobic gram negative coccobacilli were grown on the chocolate agar plate in aerobic condition with 5% CO2 at 37 degrees centigrade. On Feb 10, fine needle aspiration from the liver abscess was done, drawing 3 ml of yellowish thick pustular material, but the microorganism was not isolated at the smear and culture of this material in the same condition as described above. After admission, he was treated with antibiotics(cefazole and marocin). His general conditions and laboratory results, including liver function, were markedly improved. He was discharged on Feb 12 and appears well on subsequent follow-ups. The microorganism and lymph nodes were sent to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States for further evaluation. A twostep indirect immunoalkaline phosphatase technique using an anti-F. tularensis antibody was performed on the lyph nodes having a positive reaction. The immunohistochemical stain demonstrated intense positivity in the stellate abscesses and fine granular reaction in some of the vessels in the paracortical region. Also F. tularensis was identified in the agar plug by culture morphology and immunofluorescence antibody test. We report a case of F. tularensis in Korea for the first time. Further studies were recommened for epidemiological characteristics and prevention of the disease.
Abscess ; Adult ; Agar ; Animals ; Animals, Domestic ; Animals, Wild ; Appetite ; Arm ; Axilla ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Cacao ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Europe, Eastern ; Fatigue ; Fever ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Follow-Up Studies ; Francisella tularensis ; Friends ; Hand ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Insects ; Japan ; Korea* ; Liver ; Liver Abscess ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Siberia ; Skin ; Tularemia* ; Ulcer ; United States ; Walking

We found an error in our published article. Author name should be corrected.

No abstract available.
Communicable Diseases* ; Emigrants and Immigrants* ; Humans ; Korea ; Vaccination*

PURPOSE: The follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (FVPTC) is difficult to diagnose and there is continuous debate regarding the optimal extent of surgery. METHODS: One hundred sixty three patients (17 male, 146 female; mean age 43.3 years), who underwent a thyroidectomy with a final diagnosis of FVPTC were divided into the total thyroidectomy group (Group I, n=74) and the less- than total thyroidectomy group (Group II, n=89). The two groups were compared with respect to the various clinicopathological characteristics. The mean follow up duration was 64.9 months (13~247 months). RESULTS: Group I showed a significantly higher sensitivity than Group II for the diagnosis. The age of the patients in Group I was significantly older than those in Group II. The frequency of multifocality, capsular invasion, and the incidence of a cervical lymph node metastasis were significantly higher in Group I. Therefore, Group I had a higher proportion of stage III and IV. The percentage of high risk patients according to the AMES (Age, distant Metastasis, Extent of primary tumor, and tumor Size) category and MACIS (distant Metastasis, Age, Completeness of primary surgical resection, extrathyroidal Invasion, and tumor Size) score was significantly higher in Group I. However, there was a similar rate of locoregional recurrence, distant metastasis, and survival in the two groups. CONCLUSION: When a diagnosis of FVPTC is made preoperatively or intraoperatively, definitive thyroid cancer surgery can be applied using the corresponding extent of surgery for an ordinary papillary thyroid carcinoma. However, if no definitive diagnosis is made, then a less-than total thyroidectomy is recommended as the initial surgery, and a complete thyroidectomy is reserved only for high-risk patients.
Diagnosis ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms* ; Thyroidectomy

The morphologic spectrum of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is wide, and many different variants have been recognized. Papillary thyroid carcinoma with nodular fasciitis-like stroma (PTC-NFS) is one of the rare variants of a papillary thyroid carcinoma. Because of the rarity of PTC-NFS, the pathogenesis and clinicopathological significance are still unknown. We recently experienced a case of papillary thyroid carcinoma with extensive nodular fasciitis-like stroma. A 45-year-old female was admitted due to thyroid incidentaloma. An sonographic examination revealed well-demarcated nodules in the right lobe of the thyroid. Fine-needle aspiration cytology showed a finding suspicious for PTC, but was not diagnostic. The patient underwent a right hemithyroidectomy with central compartment node dissection. On gross examination, a well-demarcated white solid ovoid mass measuring 1.0 x 1.0 cm was seen at the upper pole of the right thyroid gland. An intraoperative frozen section also was unable to differentiate between a benign and malignant lesion. An histopathological test showed prominent stromal cell proliferation, exuberant myofibroblastic proliferation associated with deposition of dense bands of collagen, and an area of papillary carcinoma merging with the desmoplastic stroma. Finally, the patent was diagnosed as having a papillary thyroid carcinoma with nodular fasciitis-like stroma.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Collagen ; Female ; Frozen Sections ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Myofibroblasts ; Stromal Cells ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms* ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: Postoperative hypocalcemia is a common complication of thyroidectomy. This study evaluated the incidence and risk factors for postoperative hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy. METHODS: There were 196 consecutive patients undergoing total thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer between September 2004 and February 2005 who were enrolled in this study. Patients were divided into two groups, those remaining normocalcemic (Group I) and those who had hypocalcemia requiring treatment (Group II). Group II was subdivided into a transient hypocalcemic group (Group IIA) and a permanent hypocalcemic group (Group IIB). All groups were compared with regard to age, gender, histology, coexisting disease, T stage, bilateral lesions, primary total thyroidectomy versus secondary completion thyroidectomy, extent of lymph node dissection, and autotransplantation of the parathyroid gland. RESULTS: Among all patients, 139 (71%) were in Group I, 54 (27.5%) in Group IIA and 3 (1.5%) in Group IIB. On the multivariate analysis for risk factors compared between Group I and Group II, the T4 stage was the most significant for the development of postoperative hypocalcemia. On the univariate analysis comparing factors between Group IIA and Group IIB, the T4 stage and a complete thyroidectomy were significantly related to the development of permanent hypocalcemia. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that the incidence of transient hypocalcemia, after total thyroidectomy, was 27.5%, while permanent hypocalcemia was detected in 1.5% of cases. The parathyroid glands should be preserved more carefully to avoid postoperative hypocalcemia in patients with high risk factors including T4 tumors and complete thyroidectomy procedures.
Humans ; Hypocalcemia ; Incidence ; Lymph Node Excision ; Multivariate Analysis ; Parathyroid Glands ; Risk Factors ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroidectomy