Nontoxic goitre. II. A study of the pituitary-thyroid axis in 14 recurrent cases

Of 182 patients operated on for nontoxic goitre, 162 could be followed up after a mean period of 16.4 years. In 31 (19%) of the 162 patients the goitre had recurred. No patient had received regular thyroid-substitution therapy postoperatively. Of the 31 recurrences, 14 had not been treated at the time of follow-up. These 14 patients were matched with controls (without recurrence) from the original series, according to sex, age and time of operation. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), serum thyroxin (T4), triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroid antibodies were determined in both groups. There were no intergroup differences as regards TSH and T4, which were within normal range. T3 values were elevated in both groups, but were significantly higher in the patients with goitre recurrence than in their control group. Routine postoperative use of thyroid-substitution therapy is not supported by the findings in this study.