[Conditions of the remaining thyroid tissue after partial thyroidectomy]

The authors have realized a retrospective study about 246 patients who underwent partial thyroidectomy for a benign nodule or goiter between 1982 and 1991. Recurrence was analized with the method of Kaplan-Meier and concerned 11% of the patients at 3 years and 30% at 8 years. The statistical analysis showed that only patients with postoperative hormonal treatment were at risk of recurrence. This treatment was not randomized. Other studied factors (sex, age, type of surgery, pathological results, TSH level) are not correlated with recurrence. Surgical management is discussed.