Surgical and Biochemical Outcomes in Nerve Monitored Reoperation Surgery for Recurrent Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveTo study the surgical and biochemical outcomes in nerve‐monitored reoperation or revision surgery for recurrent thyroid cancers.Study DesignA single‐center retrospective study.SettingTertiary center.MethodsWe identified patients with recurrent papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) who underwent reoperation/revision surgery. Study outcomes were surgical complications frequency, recurrence, distant metastasis, and biological complete response (BCR) by comparing preoperative and postoperative thyroglobulin (Tg) levels.ResultsOut of 227 patients, 33.9% presented for ≥2 reoperation surgeries. Nineteen (8.4%) had permanent preoperative hypoparathyroidism while 22 patients (9.7%) had preoperative vocal cord paralysis (VCP). Following reoperation surgery, there were 12 cases (5.3%) of permanent hypocalcemia and no cases of unexpected postoperative VCP. BCR was achieved in 31 patients (35.2%) with complete Tg data. Mean preoperative Tg was 47.7 ng/mL and was 19.7 ng/mL postoperatively (p = .003). The cervical nodal recurrence rate after final surgery was 7.0% (n = 16).ConclusionReoperation surgery for recurrent PTC may help achieve biochemical remission regardless of age or the number of prior surgeries.