Recurrent laryngeal nerve and voice preservation: routine identification and appropriate assessment - two important steps in thyroid surgery.

Introduction: The aims of this study were to assess and compare vocal cord functions before and after thyroid surgery after intra-operative identification of recurrent laryngeal nerve.

Patients And Methods: Recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) is seen intra-operatively in all cases undergoing thyroid surgeries. Vocal cord functions including any voice change were evaluated by indirect laryngoscopy (I/L) and direct laryngoscopy (D/L) before and after surgery.

Absence of microfollicular basement membrane: a new indicator in the diagnosis of follicular carcinoma thyroid.

The thyroid follicles represent a biological continuum. Each follicle is closely related to the follicle that is next to it. The important feature of a follicular carcinoma is a microfollicular pattern.

Role of 99mTc-Tetrofosmin delayed scintigraphy and color Doppler sonography in characterization of solitary thyroid nodules.

Objectives: A study was undertaken to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of Tc-Tetrofosmin scan and color Doppler in the characterization of benign and malignant solitary thyroid nodules.

Methods: Fifty-two patients found to have a cold solitary thyroid nodule on Tc-pertechnetate scintigraphy were included in this study. All patients underwent a single-injection dual-phase (30 min and 120 min) Tc-Tetrofosmin scan.

Primary squamous-cell carcinoma of the thyroid gland: new evidence in support of follicular epithelial cell origin.

Primary squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC) of the thyroid gland is extremely rare. We had an opportunity to treat two such cases recently. Two elderly females presented with left lobe thyroid swelling that had a history of long-standing goiter.