Secondary central compartment surgery for Thyroid Cancer

Objectives/Hypothesis: To report surgical outcomes in a large series of patients with a history of thyroid cancer who underwent secondary central compartment surgery (SCCS). Study Design: Retrospective chart review. Methods: The records of 44 patients who underwent 47 secondary central compartment surgeries for thyroid cancer were reviewed. Results: Metastatic nodal disease was found in 59.6% (28) central neck compartments. Remnant thyroid tissue was removed from 17 necks. The rate of transient and permanent vocal cord paralysis per SCCS was 2.1% and 6.4%, respectively. Transient and permanent hypoparathyroidism occurred in 11.9% and 9.5% of cases, respectively. Conclusions: SCCS is feasible but does carry some risk. The long-term implications of early intervention in this setting are still largely unknown and will warrant future research.