La linfadenectomia video-assistita per carcinoma papillifero della tiroide

[Autom. eng. transl.] Video-assisted thyroidectomy (VAT = video-assisted thyroidectomy) has also been proposed for patients with small papillary thyroid carcinomas. After adequate "learning curve" we verified the possibility of performing lymphadenectomy of the central compartment during VAT. In 78 patients a lymphadenectomy was performed in case of increased lymph nodes and among these 16 patients performed a complete dissection of the central compartment. The average number of lymph nodes in the central compartment was 8 +/- 3.5 (6-18). Transient hypocalcemia was observed in 6 cases with definitive hypoparathyroidism in 3 cases and transient lesion of the recurrent nerve in one case. Definitive histological examination documented lymph node metastases in 15 patients. The aesthetic result was judged satisfactory by all patients. The radicality of surgical resection is comparable to that of traditional surgery with an average pre-ablation uptake (RAIU) of 1.4%. The video-assisted lymphadenectomy of the central compartment allows obtaining results comparable to those of conventional surgery. Larger series and longer follow-up are needed to draw definitive conclusions in this regard.