TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH CARCINOMA OF THE THYROID INVADING THE AIRWAY

Objective: To determine if complete resection (vs incomplete resection ) improved survival of patients with thyroid carcinoma invading the ai rway. Design: Retrospective, nonrandomized end point study. Setting: T ertiary care referral centers. Patients: All patients who had invasion of the airway by thyroid carcinoma and underwent some type of surgica l resection. Interventions: Surgical resection. Main Outcome Measure: Survival. Results: Complete resection showed significantly better surv ival than incomplete resection (P=.0136). Conclusion: Complete resecti on of thyroid carcinoma invading the airway offers improved survival c ompared with incomplete resection.