L. Pezzullo et al., POSTOPERATIVE COMPLICATIONS AFTER COMPLETION THYROIDECTOMY FOR DIFFERENTIATED THYROID-CANCER, European journal of surgical oncology, 23(3), 1997, pp. 215-218
The surgical approach to differentiated thyroid carcinoma is still con
troversial, as many authors consider it necessary to remove the whole
gland, Therefore, when definitive histological diagnosis is made follo
wing limited resection, re-operation and completion thyroidectomy (CT)
is sometimes recommended. The main indications are for follicular can
cer or for patients with a carcinoma of greater than or equal to 1 cm
previously treated with lobectomy or limited resection (early CT), or
for local recurrence after previous treatment (late CT), Several autho
rs, however, draw attention to the high rate of complications followin
g completion thyroidectomy and advocate its use in more limited circum
stances, The aim of the study was to evaluate the results of our exper
ience with CT in the National Cancer Institute in Naples, Of 131 patie
nts treated for thyroid cancer 35 (26.7%) underwent a CT, Re-operation
was performed within 6 months in 26 cases (74.3%) and later in the re
maining nine cases (25.7%) : carcinoma in the residual gland was found
in six cases (23%) of early CT, and in four casts (45%) in the late C
T group with an overall incidence of 28.5%, Post-operative complicatio
ns were: transient hypoparathyroidism, two cases (5.6%), permanent in
one (2.8%). Transient recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy occurred in thre
e patients (8.5%) and became permanent in one case (2.8%). Completion
thyroidectomy can therefore be considered a safe procedure.