Abstract
We analyzed retrospectively the clinical outcome of thirty patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) who underwent simple or extended thymectomy during 1977 to 1994 in our hospital. Overall remission rate and palliation rates were 20.0% and 76.7%, respectively. When the clinical outcome of patients was compared in terms of sex, Ossermann's classification, serum level of anti-acethylcholine receptor antibody, the presence or absence of thymoma, and the operative procedures, there were no differences in the clinical outcome of patients according to any of these factors. However, patients who were less than 40 years of age or with duration of illness of less than 12 months showed a significantly more favorable prognosis. These results suggested that surgery should be considered as early as possible for patients with MG.
