Factors predicting contralateral nodal spread in papillary carcinoma of thyroid.

Background: Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is evident in about 20-50% of cases at presentation in papillary carcinoma thyroid (PTC). There are no clear recommendations for the need and extent of lateral and central compartment dissection in PTC.

Methods: A total of 83 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy and bilateral selective neck dissection for diagnosed PTC from September 2011 to October 2017 were retrospectively analyzed.