ABSTRACT
Objective@#To evaluate the effects of staining with carbon nanoparticles on the identification of parathyroid glands and lymph nodes during thyroid carcinoma surgery combined with lymphadenectomy.@*Methods@#A total of 194 patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma who underwent thyroidectomy combined with lymphadenectomy from April 2016 to January 2018 were reviewed. Of them 104 cases were injected with carbon nanoparticles in operation area (nanocarbon group) and other 90 cases without the injection of carbon nanoparticles were as control group. The incidence of mistakenly dissection of parathyroid glands and the levels of serum calcium and parathyroid hormone in 1 day, 3 days, 1 month and 6 months after surgery were compared between two groups of patients. Chisquare and ranksum test were used to analyze 2 data.@*Results@#There were no significant differences in age, gender, tumor size, operation time, extrathyroidal invasion and multifocality between two groups. Compared with control groups, nanocarbon group showed a significantly lower incidence of mistakenly dissection of parathyroid glands (8 cases vs 2 cases, 8.9% vs 1.9%,χ2=4.9, P=0.026) and a significantly lower incidence of hypoparathyroidism (41 cases vs 28 cases, 45.5% vs 26.9%, χ2=7.3, P=0.007). The number of lymph nodes dissected from central compartment was 791 in nanocarbon group and 536 in control groups, with a statistically significant difference (Z=-2.2, P=0.028). There was a significant difference in the number of lymph nodes removed from the right neck Ⅵb level between nanocarbon group and control group (41 nodes vs 93 nodes, Z=-2.1, P=0.034).@*Conclusion@#Treatment with nanocarbon can significantly facilitate the identification of the parathyroid during total thyroidectomy combined with central compartment lymphadenectomy, reduce the incidence of postoperative hypoparathyroidism, and improve the dissection of lymph node in the central compartment.