[Clinical signs and management strategies in thyroid masses].

Objectives: Patients who underwent surgery for thyroid masses were evaluated with regard to clinical symptoms, diagnostic and treatment methods, and the results of treatment.

Patients And Methods: The study included 92 patients (72 women, 20 men; mean age 45 years; range 16 to 71 years). Clinical diagnoses were based on findings of ultrasonography, thyroid function tests, thyroid scintigraphy, and fine-needle aspiration biopsy. Operations performed were near-total thyroidectomy (n=40), hemithyroidectomy (n=25), bilateral subtotal thyroidectomy (n=16), and total thyroidectomy (n=11). Patients with carcinoma associated with neck lymph node metastasis also underwent lateral, anterolateral, modified radical, or radical neck dissections.

Results: Postoperative histopathologic diagnoses were benign colloid nodule (n=70), papillary carcinoma (n=16), medullary carcinoma (n=2), anaplastic carcinoma (n=2), and Basedow-Graves disease (n=2). Unilateral vocal cord paralysis developed in 11 patients (11.9%), five of which persisted beyond one year follow-up. Two patients (2.2%) had transient hypocalcemia and one patient (1.1%) had postoperative hematoma.

Conclusion: Preoperative determination of the structure and confines of thyroid masses increases success rates of surgical procedures and minimizes complication rates.