Surgical management of recurring or metastatic thyroid cancer

The surgical oncologist is sometimes confronted with a patient who was surgically treated for cancer of the thyroid gland and now has recurrent disease. In most instances, additional surgical treatment is indicated. The magnitude of surgery is primarily determined by the amount of tissue removed at the original operation. Surgery for recurrent disease may include completion of total thyroidectomy with dissection of lymphatic tissues in the thyroid compartment or/and neck dissection, preferably modified. Several clinical situations are outlined and discussed.