The Value of Central Neck Exploration in Reoperation for Recurrent Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

PURPOSE: Central neck recurrence in papillary thyroid cancer patients is critical because it is closely related to mortality. We examined value of the central neck exploration in reoperation for recurrent papillary cancer. METHODS: 70 recurrent papillary cancer patients who underwent reoperation from Jan 1996 to July 2000 were reviewed retrospectively. The patients were divided into 3 groups: lateral neck recurrence group (group L, 31 cases), lateral neck and central neck combined recurrence group (group LC, 19 cases), and central neck recurrence group (guoup C, 20 cases). In the 19 cases of group LC, bilateral paratracheal exploration was performed in 10 cases and unilateral paratracheal exploration was completed in 9 cases. Among these, 5 paratracheal areas were negative according to preoperative study and were explored blindly. The remission (serum thyroglobulin