Secondary central compartment surgery for thyroid cancer.

Abstract

To report surgical outcomes in a large series of patients with a history of thyroid cancer who underwent secondary central compartment surgery (SCCS). Retrospective chart review. The records of 44 patients who underwent 47 secondary central compartment surgeries for thyroid cancer were reviewed. Metastatic nodal disease was found in 59.6% (28) central neck compartments. Remnant thyroid tissue was removed from 17 necks. The rate of transient and permanent vocal cord paralysis per SCCS was 2.1% and 6.4%, respectively. Transient and permanent hypoparathyroidism occurred in 11.9% and 9.5% of cases, respectively. SCCS is feasible but does carry some risk. The long-term implications of early intervention in this setting are still largely unknown and will warrant future research.