 |
|
Surgery for Thymic Tumors
Howard Braitman, MD;
Wei-i Li, MD;
Christian Herrmann, Jr., MD;
Donald G. Mulder, MD
AMA Arch Surg. 1971;103(1):14-16.
Abstract
In 33 thymic tumors myasthenia gravis was associated in 17. Half of these were invasive lesions, whereas only one fourth of the other 16 were invasive. Response of the myasthenia gravis to thymectomy was good to excellent in 44%. An average follow-up period of 5 years revealed seven late deaths, five of them in patients with myasthenia gravis. Four of the seven late deaths were in patients with invasive tumors. In those patients with thymomas and associated myasthenia gravis, the response of the myasthenia to surgical excision of the thymoma is not predictable, although improvement can be expected in some. In addition, since approximately one half of these lesions are invasive, prompt exploration is essential if later invasion of vital structures by tumor is to be prevented. Postoperative radiation therapy is advised in all patients with invasive lesions, as well as in those with large, nonresectable tumors.
Author Affiliations
Los Angeles
From the departments of surgery (thoracic) (Drs. Braitman, Li, and Mulder) and neurology, (Dr. Herrmann), University of California Medical Center, Los Angeles.
Footnotes
Accepted for publication Feb 12, 1971.
Read before the annual meeting of the Southern California Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, Palm Springs, Calif, Jan 17, 1971.
Reprint requests to Department of Surgery (Thoracic), UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles 90024 (Dr. Mulder).
 CiteULike  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter
What's this?
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
The Role of Surgery in the Management of Thymoma: A Systematic Review
Davenport and Malthaner
Ann. Thorac. Surg. 2008;86:673-684.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
|
