Evaluation of Benefits&Risks of Prophylactic Central Compartment Lymph Node Dissection in Papillary Thyroid Cancer

Objective Prospective case controlled study to evaluate benefits& risks of prophylactic central compartment lymph node dissection in papillary thyroid cancer Methods The Prospective study was undertaken from February 2013 to February 2015 on PTC patients.133 patients were enrolled in the study in two groups. Group 1 underwent total thyroidectomy with prophylactic central compartment lymph node dissection (TT + PCCLND). Group 2 underwent only total thyroidectomy (TT) for benign thyroid disease. Results A PCCLND was done in all group 1 patients comprising bilateral CCLND in n=20 (60.6 %) and ipsilateral CCLND in n=13 (39.4 %).81.8 % underwent parathyroid auto-transplantation in group 1 compared to 39.3 % in group 2. Transient hypocalcaemia was seen in n=15 (45.5 %) in group 1& n=42 (42.4 %) in group 2. Transient RLN Palsy occurred in n=7 (21 %) in group 1 compared to n=13 (13 %) in group 2. Permanent hypoparathyroidism was seen in n=3 (0.09 %) in group 1 and n=5 (0.05 %) in group 2. Right vocal cord palsy was seen in n=2 (6.1 %) in group 1 and n=3 (3 %) in group 2. Conclusion In conclusion, this study demonstrates the technical feasibility and safety of PCCLND, that it is a better way to determine lymph node status for a more accurate staging of disease and risk stratification.