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

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*

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 simultaneous occurrence of two distinct neoplasms derived from different cells of origin is a recognized entity. It presents uncommonly in all organs,and very rarely in the thyroid gland. METHODS: Six patients with concurrent medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) and papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) were seen between January 2000 and June 2007. Clinicopathological features were evaluated, and follow-up for the patients was obtained. RESULTS: All patients were female, with ages ranging from 39 to 63 years (mean age, 55.4 years). Five of six patients were incidentally detected during a medical check-up. The medullary carcinomas measured from 0.5 to 4.0 cm in diameter (mean diameter, 1.72 cm), while the papillary carcinomas ranged from 0.2 to 1.4 cm in diameter (mean diameter, 0.72 cm). Treatment consisted of a total thyroidectomy (n=5) and hemithyroidectomy (n=1) with central compartment node dissection. In twopatients, prophylactic bilateral neck dissection was also added. Supplemental radioactive iodine treatment was administered in five patients. During a mean follow-up period of 41.8 months, two patients showed recurrence in the lateral neck nodes, one recurrence from a papillary carcinoma and the other recurrence from a medullary carcinoma. After re-operation for the recurrent lesions, allof the patients were alive andfree of disease. CONCLUSION: Attention should be given to the possibility of the simultaneous occurrence of MTC and PTC. Treatment for concurrent MTC and PTC should be based on the treatment for MTC, considering the more aggressive behavior of the tumor than PTC.

PURPOSE: Zuckerkandl's tubercle (ZT) of the thyroid gland is a well-documented anatomical structure. This study evaluated the anatomical relationship of the ZT in terms of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) and the superior parathyroid gland (SP). METHODS: The study included 325 patients (ten patients with benign tumors and 315 patients with malignancies) who underwent thyroid surgery between February and June 2007. Tubercles were classified according to size: Grade 0 (unrecognizable), Grade I (≤ 5 mm), Grade II (6~10 mm) and Grade III (>10 mm). The incidence and size of the ZT and its positional relationship to the RLN and SP were investigated during thyroid surgery. RESULTS: ZTs were identified in most patients (right thyroid 89.3%, left thyroid 85.6%). The percentageof tubercles according to grade and location was as follows: Grade 0, right thyroid 10.7% and left thyroid 14.4%; Grade I, right thyroid 7.9% and left thyroid 11.1%; Grade II, right thyroid 43.5% and left thyroid 38.5%; Grade III, right thyroid 37.9% and left thyroid 35.9%. The most common RLN course was in a groove between the ZT and the main body of the thyroid. Most of the SPs are situated cranial to the ZTs and were located at the 1 or 2 o'clock position (96.1%) in the left thyroid and at the 10 or 11 o'clock position (95.2%) in the right thyroid. A greater distance between the ZT and the SP was seen with a decreasing size of the ZT. CONCLUSION: The ZT was identified during most thyroidectomies, and there was a constant relationship between the ZT and either the RLN or SP. Therefore, identification of the ZT and an understanding of the relationship between the ZT and either the RLN or SP are essential for the performance of safe thyroid surgery.

PURPOSE: Cervical chylous fistula (CF) development is a rare complication after neck dissection in patients with thyroid carcinoma. However, CFs are potentially fatal if left untreated. The present study evaluated three CF management protocols in thyroid cancer patients who had undergone neck dissection. METHODS: A total of 22 CF cases developed in the 353 neck dissections performed in 309 thyroid cancer patients over a period of 2 years. The CF cases involved 6 males and 16 females with a median age of 43.3 years (range, 26-63). The patients weredivided into 3 groups for analysis based on treatment modalities: Group A (n=14), conservative treatment only; Group B (n=5), conservative treatment plus Sandostatin® administration (initially, there were 7 patients in this group, but 2 patients were converted to re-surgery) Group C (n=3), re-surgery due to high-output fistula (>500 ml/d), which in some cases did not respond to conservative treatment plus SandostatinⓇ. Each group was analyzed in terms of total drainage volume, duration of hospital stay and response to treatment. RESULTS: Eighteen CFs occurred in left neck dissection patients, and 4 in right neck patients. Chylous drainage was greater in left neck compared to right neck patients (P= 0.033). All right-sided fistulasclosed following conservative treatment only. The chyle drainage period was longer for Group A (7.6 days) than Group B (4.2 days) patients (P= 0.019), and the duration of hospital stay was longer for Group A than Group B patients (P=0.026). In Group C, re-surgery to close the fistula resulted in termination of chyle flow in all cases. The only complication was wound infection in 1 case (4.6 %). There were no recurrences of CFs in any group. CONCLUSION: The majority of CF cases can be successfully controlled using conservative treatment only. The additional use of Sandostatin® can reduce the duration of CF drainage and lead to earlier CF closure. However, in case where fistula output exceeds 500 ml/d, early re-surgery should be considered.
Chyle ; Drainage ; Female ; Fistula* ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Neck Dissection* ; Neck* ; Recurrence ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms* ; Wound Infection