Abstract
Immediate recurrent laryngeal nerve reconstruction can maintain vocal function in cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma with invasion of the recurrent laryngeal nerve. In our hospital, there have been 44 cases with invasion of the recurrent laryngeal nerve where the nerve was reconstructed immediately. Here we report the post-operation voice results and prognosis of immediate nerve reconstruction.
Recurrence and metastasis occurred post-operation in 14 of 44 cases. The average and best maximum phonation time （MPT） was approximately 12.04 seconds and 25.0 seconds respectively. The group with invasion of the recurrent laryngeal nerve alone experienced fewer instances of recurrence and metastasis than the group with invasion of both the recurrent laryngeal nerve and plural organs. The group with existing nerve paresis before surgery experienced fewer instances of recurrence and metastasis than the group without existing nerve paresis.
Papillary thyroid cancer with invasion of the recurrent laryngeal nerve is treated as stage T4a according to the UICC TNM classification. However, the prognosis of cases with invasion of the recurrent laryngeal nerve is predicted to be better than with additional invasion of other organs. Both radical treatment and preservation of vocal function are required in the treatment of papillary thyroid carcinoma with invasion of the recurrent laryngeal nerve.
