BACKGROUND: Our goal is to analyze tumor invasion of the contralateral thyroid lobe, evaluating the relationship between risk/benefit with complications of a second surgery. METHOD: From October, 1993 to December, 1996 twenty patients with thyroid tumors were operated. The analysed variables were sex, age, type of surgery, complications, histophatologic examination ot the surgical especimen and contralateral lobe invasion. There were 2 men and 18 women; the age ranged from 17 to 89 years old; the most common histologic type was papillary carcinoma (13 cases) followed by follicular carcinoma (6 cases) and Hürtle cell carcinoma (1 case). The initial surgical procedures were 11 lobectomies plus isthmectomies; 4 lobectomies; 3 subtotal thyroidectomies; 1 total thyroidectomy and 1 isthmectomy. Five patients were not submitted to total thyroidectomy (1 by fibrosis, 3 by loose of follow-up and 1 case of microcarcinoma). RESULTS: Analysis of the contralateral lobe (performed in 15 patients) showed that 11 were negative and 4 positive (26,6%). Complications observed were dysphonia (2 cases treated with fonotherapy), and hypoparathyroidism (1 transient and 1 permanent). CONCLUSIONS: The totalization of thyroidectomy is an important procedure for the treatment of malignant tumors of thyroid due by the high rate of contralateral metastasis (26,6%). Moreover, it's a procedure without mortality with lower complications.
Thyroid carcinoma; Surgery
