With the rapid aging of the population, the number of patients with dementia requiring surgery for various diseases is expected to increase. Since the risk of airway obstruction caused by infiltration of adjacent organs is increased in cases of thyroid cancer, surgery is often selected as the best treatment option even for elderly patients.
Our patient reported herein, a 78-year-old woman with dementia, who showed wandering behavior at night, was diagnosed as having advanced papillary thyroid cancer. Total thyroidectomy, cervical dissection, mediastinal dissection, and vagal nerve resection were performed. After the operation, the patient was managed in the intensive care unit, and rehabilitation was started early. Due to the early start of rehabilitation, the patient was able to return to the society immediately after discharge.
In elderly patients with dementia, special attention needs to be paid to the possible need for emergency airway management for postoperative complications such as postoperative bleeding and aspiration caused by recurrent nerve paralysis, and to airway maintenance.
