[Surgical treatment of differentiated carcinoma of the thyroid. Retrospective study]

This is a review of the surgical treatment in six patients with papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. The mean age at the time of diagnosis was eight years (range four-twelve years). Clinical presentation was: all patients had a palpable thyroid tumor, palpable lymph nodes in four and one with lung metastases. The initial surgical treatment was lobectomy and modified regional lymph nodes resection. Four patients underwent a second operation for multifocal disease, palpable lymph node or thyroid tumor. The interval from initial surgical management to the detection of recurrence ranging from one month to four years. In three patients the remaining thyroid gland was removed. Radioiodine, external irradiation and chemotherapy were given during the postoperative. The median follow-up was eight years (range one-fifteen years). All patients are alive with thyroid hormone therapy by hypothyroidism. There were no hypoparathyroidism or injuries to the recurrent laryngeal nerve. The results of this study suggest that the surgical approach in papillary carcinoma of the thyroid is total thyroidectomy because reoperation were performed in four patients.