Clinical Significance of Nodulectomy in Surgical Treatment of Benign Thyroid Nodules

Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology 2006;22(2):137-141.
Published online November 30, 2006.

Dong-Woo Lee;Sang-Hyo Kim

양성 갑상샘 결절의 수술적 치료에서 결절절제술의 임상적 의의

이동우;김상효

Abstract

Purpose
：It has been generally accepted that lobectomy is a standard surgical procedure in treatment of benign thyroid nodules. However lobectomy may cause postoperative hypothyroidism. Most of surgeons be-lieve that nodulectomy has its limitation in treatment of thyroid nodules due to recurrence of nodules and presence of cancer. The current study attempts to determine whether nodulectomy is justified in aspects of preservation of thyroid function, risk of recurrence and complications. Methods ：Data was collected retrospectively on 74 patients undergoing thyroidectomy(single nodulectomy, n=43；bilateral nodulectomies, n=9；lobectomy with nodulectomy, n=22) for benign thyroid nodules from 1999 to 2004. All patients were evaluated for complication, postoperative thyroid function, and recurrence of benign nodule and cancer were followed by regular ultrasonographic examination for 2-6 years. Results ：The pathologic results of 74 patients were nodular hyperplasia(55 patients), Hashimoto’s thyroi-ditis(8 patients), follicular adenoma(7 patients) and papillary carcinoma(4 patients). Average operation time was 30 minutes from skin incision to specimen out. In postoperative follow-up of 70 patients, six cases(8.5%) became mild hypothyroid, and ultrasonographically detected micronodule was also six cases(8.5%). There were no other complications. Conclusion ：Thyroid nodulectomy appears to have advantages of relatively few complication and simple procedure with no access to laryngeal nerves. Therefore, it may be one of treatment options in selected cases of benign thyroid nodules.

Key Words: Thyroid nodules, Nodulectomy, Recurrence, Hypothyroidism