Outpatient thyroidectomy in the pediatric population

Preoperative optimization and patient education have allowed for the transition of thyroid surgery to the outpatient setting over the last few decades. Performing these operations in the outpatient setting has proven to be cost-effective and safe in the adult population. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of outpatient thyroid surgery in the pediatric population. A retrospective review from December 2015 to February 2019 of patients under the age of 18 years of age undergoing thyroidectomy performed by two endocrine surgeons at a large academic was performed. There were 55 consecutive operations performed in 51 patients for thyroid pathology, two were excluded as they were inpatient procedures. Cases were reviewed for complications, unplanned same-day admission, 30-day admission, unplanned reoperation, and death. Mean age was 15 ± 0.3 years (range 9–18 years), 79% of the patients were female. Operations were performed for Graves’ disease (n = 29), thyroid cancer (n = 9), thyroid nodule (n = 6), multinodular goiter (n = 4), Hashimoto’s disease (n = 3), and toxic adenoma (n = 2). Operations performed included: total thyroidectomy (n = 36), thyroid lobectomy (n = 13), total thyroidectomy with lymph node dissection (n = 2), and lateral neck dissection (n = 2). All patients were discharged home within 6 h after completion of the operation. Five (9.4%) patients had transient hypoparathyroidism, with parathyroid hormone levels <10 pg/mL immediately postoperatively. One patient (1.9%) developed a postoperative hematoma on postoperative day six and required reoperation and readmission. Two patients (3.8%) had permanent hypoparathyroidism and one had transient hoarseness (1.9%). There were otherwise no readmissions or ED visits. In conclusion, outpatient thyroid surgery is safe and effective for pediatric patients.     

Quality of life after thyroid surgery in women with benign euthyroid goiter: influencing factors including Hashimoto's thyroiditis

Background

Hashimoto's thyroiditis is associated with decreased quality of life (QoL). Thyroid surgery could hypothetically lead to an increase in QoL.

Methods

In a follow-up analysis of a prospective cohort study that included euthyroid women undergoing thyroid surgery for benign thyroid disease, 248 patients were willing to answer the SF-36 QoL questionnaire.

Results

At follow-up after a median of 26 months, only the SF-36 module of “bodily pain” had increased (P = .046). Preoperative anti–thyroid peroxidase antibody levels were positively correlated with increasing QoL in the SF-36 modules “bodily pain” (P < .001) and “role emotional” (P < .001). For the presence of histologically confirmed Hashimoto's thyroiditis, a significant positive correlation (P < .001) was found for all modules apart from “physical functioning.”

Conclusions

In women with benign euthyroid goiter, thyroid surgery does not lead to an overall improvement in health-related QoL. It should not be recommended for patients with elevated anti–thyroid peroxidase antibody levels. Patients with histologically confirmed Hashimoto's thyroiditis might benefit in terms of QoL.     

Coexistence of secondary chondrosarcoma and lung carcinoma metastasis in the humerus of a patient with Ollier's disease: A case report

Tumor-to-tumor metastasis in the same bone is an extremely rare condition. Limited number of case reports exists for coincidence of benign and malign neoplasms but none for malignant to malignant metastasis. Occurrence of several individual malignancies in the same patient may eventually cause such coexistences. We report an Ollier's disease patient with malignant transformation to chondrosarcoma complicated by a pathologic fracture and eventually whose pathological examination revealed that the lesion was not only the chondrosarcoma but an accompanying metastasis from existing lung adenocarcinoma. This report includes clinical, radiological, histological diagnostic challenges in an unexpected lesion and a review of literature.