TOTAL LOBECTOMY AND TOTAL THYROIDECTOMY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THYROID LESIONS

Objective: To study an unselected consecutive series of patients under going thyroidectomy for tumors to establish the complication rates of total lobectomy with isthmectomy and total thyroidectomy. Design: Retr ospective study. Patients: Two hundred eight consecutive, unselected p atients were operated on by one surgeon from 1980 to 1990. One hundred nineteen patients (57%) had a total lobectomy and isthmectomy and 85 patients (41%) had total thyroidectomy. Four patients (2%) had partial excision for technical reasons, two with anaplastic cancers and two w ith advanced thyroiditis. Results: Forty-two malignant lesions (20%) w ere diagnosid with a mean follow-up of 5 years. Malignant lesions were diagnosed in 15 (31%) of 48 males and 27 (17%) of 160 women. Ten pati ents (5%) had parathyroid adenomas. Long-term follow-up revealed that there were no deaths, permanent hypocalcemia, or recurrent laryngeal n erve damage. One patient was returned to the operating room to control bleeding. Conclusion: This study suggests that total thyroid lobectom y with isthmectomy and total thyroidectomy are both safe procedures in the management of thryoid tumors.