TY - JOUR
T1 - Thymectomy in the treatment of myasthenia gravis: report of 247 patients
AU - Evoli Stampanoni-B, Amelia
AU - Batocchi, Anna Paola
AU - Provenzano, Carlo
AU - Ricci, Enzo
AU - Tonali, Pietro Attilio
PY - 1988
Y1 - 1988
N2 - We made a retrospective assessment of the long-term outcome in 247 consecutive patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) who underwent thymectomy in the period January 1971-December 1985. In 84 cases a thymoma was found at surgery, while 163 patients had a non-neoplastic thymus. The duration of symptoms before surgery, the age at onset of the disease and the presence of germinal centres in the thymus did not appear to influence the prognosis. Patients with a non-neoplastic thymus showed a better response to thymectomy. Thymoma was associated with more severe disease and with a higher mortality; moreover, more thymoma patients required corticosteroid treatment in order to achieve good therapeutic results. In our opinion, thymectomy is indicated in the treatment of generalized MG, while ocular myasthenia seems not to be improved by the removal of the thymus.
AB - We made a retrospective assessment of the long-term outcome in 247 consecutive patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) who underwent thymectomy in the period January 1971-December 1985. In 84 cases a thymoma was found at surgery, while 163 patients had a non-neoplastic thymus. The duration of symptoms before surgery, the age at onset of the disease and the presence of germinal centres in the thymus did not appear to influence the prognosis. Patients with a non-neoplastic thymus showed a better response to thymectomy. Thymoma was associated with more severe disease and with a higher mortality; moreover, more thymoma patients required corticosteroid treatment in order to achieve good therapeutic results. In our opinion, thymectomy is indicated in the treatment of generalized MG, while ocular myasthenia seems not to be improved by the removal of the thymus.
KW - Myasthenia Gravis
KW - Postoperative Complications
KW - Retrospective Studies
KW - Thymoma
KW - Myasthenia Gravis
KW - Postoperative Complications
KW - Retrospective Studies
KW - Thymoma
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/18639
M3 - Article
SN - 0340-5354
VL - 235
SP - 272
EP - 276
JO - Journal of Neurology
JF - Journal of Neurology
ER -