Publication:

A hospital based study on the surgical outcomes of thyroid malignancies

Background Thyroid cancer is a heterogeneous disease that affects all age groups. The tumors are found to be more aggressive in the elderly. The distribution of these cancers in India continues to remain uncertain. The impact of geographic locations in the incidence of thyroid malignancies is yet to be explored. This study was done to estimate the prevalence and distribution of thyroid cancers.

Methods This hospital based retrospective study was done at the Department of Surgery of our medical college hospital. About 50 medical records of patients diagnosed with thyroid cancers at our hospital were analyzed. Data on clinical examination, ultrasound findings and histopathology findings were documented.

Results Out of the 50 patients studied 16 patients had dysphagia, eight patients had dyspnoea and 24 patients had regional metastasis. The most common surgery done for the primary cancer is total thyroidectomy. Hemithyroidectomy was done in 10 patients with SNG, out of which one patient had discrete lymph node per operatively and node dissection was carried out.

Conclusions TSH suppressive doses are recommended for all patients with papillary and follicular thyroid cancers. A cohort study to analyze the survival outcomes of the patients treated with both the surgical modalities will give an insight into the management of thyroid malignancies.