Prophylactic Selective Lateral Neck Dissection in Patients With Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Lymphatic Metastasis, Thyroid Neoplasm

Papillary thyroid carcinoma with neck metastasis, neck dissection

The purpose of this study is to prospectively analyze the incidence of occult lateral neck metastasis (LNM) and to elucidate the factors that predict LNM in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) with central neck metastasis (CNM) by performing prophylactic selective lateral neck dissection (SND).

The lymphatic drainage pattern of the thyroid is uniform and consistent, and therefore, metastatic patterns are relatively predictable. Initial nodal metastasis in PTC usually occurs in the paratracheal and pretracheal nodes in level VI of the central compartment of the ipsilateral neck and spreads to the lateral cervical lymph nodes. Macroscopic skip metastases to the lateral compartment of the neck in the absence of central disease are uncommon.

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