2006 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 40-44
In 15 of 44 patients of differentiated thyroid cancer with nerve invasion, recurrent nerve could be preserved by procedure performed under microscope. This 15 patients was compared with the residual 29 resected group about invasion to other organs, local recurrence, and prognosis. The rate of other organ invasion and the rate of local recurrence in the preserved group were higher than those in the resected group. The rate of distant metastasis was almost equal during the two groups. One dead case by other disease was observed in the preserved group. On the other hand, one dead case by primary disease in the resected group. These findings suggest that if the recurrent nerve can be microscopically preserved, microscopic procedure is available in some cases. Definition of invasion to the recurrent nerve should be clarified.
