Reoperation in differentiated carcinoma of the thyroid gland

A series of 112 patients reoperated on for differentiated thyroid cancer is analyzed; 60 patients (38 with papillary and 22 with follicular cancer) underwent ex-principio to completion of a non total thyroidectomy and 52 (37 with papillary and 15 with follicular cancer) to repeat surgery for local relapse. At a mean follow-up of 8.7 years, all the 38 patients with papillary cancer reoperated on for completion are alive and disease-free, while of those with follicular cancer 4 are dead, 2 are alive with carcinoma and 16 (72.7%) are disease free. A reoperation for relapse was performed on the thyroid in 11, on the thyroid and nodes in 23 patients (all had initially received partial thyroidectomy), and on nodes alone in 28 patients. At a mean follow-up of 10.2 years, 20 patients (54%) with papillary and 7 (46.6%) with follicular cancer are alive and disease-free, 8 patients with papillary and 1 with follicular cancer are alive with disease and the remainder are dead due to the tumour. Although there is no sure evidence that total thyroidectomy provides higher survival and fewer recurrences, since many factors, predominantly age influence the prognosis, total thyroidectomy is recommended as a minimal procedure to avoid less safe and less radical subsequent reoperation.