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Published on: November 28, 2025
Secondary central compartment surgery for thyroid cancer
Michael P Ondik1, Seper Dezfoli, Lindsay Lipinski
1Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, Penn State University School of Medicine, 500 University Drive, Hershey, PA 17033-0850, USA.
Objectives/Hypothesis:
To report surgical outcomes in a large series of patients with a history of thyroid cancer who underwent secondary central compartment surgery (SCCS).
Study Design:
Retrospective chart review.
Methods:
The records of 44 patients who underwent 47 secondary central compartment surgeries for thyroid cancer were reviewed.
Results:
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.
Conclusions:
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.
