Radical operation for thyroid carcinoma invading the trachea
K. Nakao, M. Miyata, M. Izukura, Y. Monden, M. Maeda and Y. Kawashima
We report 12 cases of well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma that invaded
the trachea. In all of these cases, we performed a hemithyroidectomy,
including the isthmus, with an accompanying neck dissection and resection
of the trachea. Six of 12 patients experienced hemoptysis, and a diagnosis
of tracheal invasion was made preoperatively in nine patients by tracheal
endoscopy and computed tomography. Histologic diagnosis was confirmed by a
preoperative biopsy in one case only. An end-to-end anastomosis of the
trachea was performed in five patients, an anastomosis between the cricoid
cartilage and the trachea was performed in five patients, and an
anastomosis between the thyroid cartilage and the trachea was performed in
two patients. One patient with a recurrence of tumor died of tracheal
bleeding 11/2 years later. One patient died of massive gastrointestinal
bleeding postoperatively. The remaining ten patients have been doing well
from three months to five years two months postoperatively.
