Risk Of Laryngeal Nerve Palsy Research Articles

Lymph Node Dissection in Thymoma: Is it worth it?

ObjectivesLymph node dissection (LND) and nodal metastases in thymomas remain controversial and understudied. The aim of our study was to evaluate the incidence of nodal metastasis and the short term outcomes of systematic LND in thymomas. Material and methodsFrom December 2017 to September 2020, we performed 54 LND conducted according to the International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group (ITMIG) lymph node map. This group was compared to a historical control group of 55 patients who underwent surgery in our center from January 2015 to November 2017. ResultsLND was performed in 72 % and in 5 % of the cases in the study cohort group and historical control group, respectively. The number of lymph nodes retrieved was significantly higher in the study cohort group (3.89 per patient vs. 1.62, p = 0.0021). In the whole population studied, nodal metastases were found in 3 patients (2.8 % of all patients) with 5.6 % in the cohort study group vs. 0 % in the control group (p = 0.12). Patients with nodal metastasis had larger tumors (> 7 cm), and a higher histology grade (B2 and B3). There was a trend towards higher risk of laryngeal nerve palsy in the cohort study group (9.3 % vs. 1.8 %, p = 0.11). ConclusionSystematic LND increases the number of lymph node harvested and detects more lymph node metastases, which remains infrequent in thymomas. The impact of LND and the true prognostic significance of lymph node metastases remains controversial. Given the potential complications, LND or sampling should not be perfomed in small, encapsulated and low grade thymomas.

Influence of Daily Variations in Individual Surgeon's Operative Time on Patient Outcomes.

Evidence is lacking regarding the potential association between daily variation in individual surgeon's operative time, procedure after procedure, and risk of patient complication. We assumed that surgeon deviation from the expected procedure duration may be harmful for patient. All patients who underwent a thyroidectomy undertaken in five hospitals during a 1-year period were included prospectively. For each thyroidectomy, we estimated the expected operative time from a multilevel linear regression considering the attending surgeon who performed the operation, the patient preoperative risk, and the procedure complexity. Three groups of thyroidectomies were identified according to whether the observed duration is: slower than expected, as expected, or faster than expected. Rates of permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and hypoparathyroidism at 6months were then compared between these groups. A total of 3102 patients who underwent a thyroidectomy undertaken by 22 surgeons were considered. Risk of laryngeal nerve palsy was higher in the "slow" group than in the "normal" group (OR = 4.63, 95% confidence interval 2.21-9.70), as was that of hypoparathyroidism (OR = 2.43, 95% confidence interval 1.21-4.88). There was no significant difference between "fast" and "normal" groups for either complication. Deviation from expected procedure duration was more frequent at the end than at the beginning of the daily operation schedule (29.4% vs. 18.3%, respectively, P < .001). Patients had a greater risk of complication when the surgeon performed thyroidectomy slower than expected. Surgeons avoiding excessive deviations from their expected procedures durations reflect safer practice.