[Clinical application of carbon nanoparticles suspension in operation of papillary thyroid carcinoma]

Objective:The aim of this study is to evaluate the application of carbon nanoparticle lymphatic tracer in total thyroidectomy and bilateral Central District's thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma. Method:Sixty-four patients with cN0 papillary thyroid carcinoma that primary treated were random divided into two groups: Trial group and control group. Carbon nanoparticles suspension was injected into the thyroid gland of trial group patients.After ten minutes, total thyroidectomy plus bilateral central neck dissection was performed in the all patients. The black stained tissue in the dissection specimen of trial group was separated. The control group underwent total thyroidectomy plus bilateral central neck dissection. Total lymph node and parathyroid gland in the black stained tissue，and non-black stained tissue in the central compartment dissection specimen of trial group and central compartment dissection specimen of control group were counted respectively.Total lymph node, the mis-cut parathyroid glands in the adipose tissue of central lymph node，post-operative blood calcium and parathyroid hormone（PTH）of two groups were contrasted and analyzed. Result:There are 235 lymph nodes in the black-stained tissue of central compartment dissection specimen of trial group.No parathyroid gland was found in the black-stained tissue.Five lymph nodes and 2 parathyroid glands were found in the non-black stained tissue of central compartment dissection specimen of trial group. There were 164 lymph nodes and 9 parathyroid glands in central compartment dissection specimen of control group. There is statistic difference between the number of lymph nodes in black stain tissue and that of control group（t=8.291, P=0.000）.Rate of staining lymph node were 97.9 percent. No parathyroid glands were found in the black stained tissue. Nine mis-cut parathyroid glands（7.0%） were observed in the control group，while 2（1.6%） in the trial group（P<0.05）.None permanent hypocalcemia and PTH decrease were observed in the two groups.There were 10 patients（31.3%） with temporary hypocalcemia and 9 patients（28.1%）with temporary PTH decrease respectively in the control group，and there was 1 patient（3.1%） and 1 patient（3.1%） respectively in the trial group（P<0.05）. Conclusion:The effect of nano-carbon is ideal, and the parathyroid gland can not be stained black. It can distinguish the thyroid tissue from the surrounding lymphoid adipose tissue and clearly mark the Central District lymph nodes, reduce the risk of parathyroid gland injury during thyroid cancer. Neck dissection in the central region can improve the efficiency of lymph node dissection, protect the parathyroid gland and reduce the risk of postoperative complications.