[Results of palliative operations in patients with "neglected" thyroid cancer]

An analysis of 169 palliative surgical interventions out of 581 patients with "neglected" papillary, follicular and medullary thyroid cancer was made for the period from 1975 to 2010.The majority of the patients was older than 60 years, 40 of them had hematogenic dissemination. In 10 (6.2%) cases palliative operations were completed with a permanent tracheostomy through the perforation in the lower flap of that wound that decreased postoperative purulence up to 12.5%. Five years later 48 (40.3%) patients were alive from 119 patients with papillary and follicular thyroid cancer and only 10 (26.3%) with medullary cancer. Longer than 10 years 36 (28.9%) patients with papillary and follicular thyroid cancer survived that supports the validity of palliative interventions.