Metastatic lymph node status in the central compartment of papillary thyroid carcinoma: A prognostic factor of locoregional recurrence.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to present our focus on the lymph node status in the central compartment and evaluate the relevant factors and disease recurrence. METHODS: Between January 2004 and December 2009, 1040 patients were diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and underwent surgery. RESULTS: The number of metastatic lymph nodes was a significant predictor for recurrence conferring a hazard ratio of 1.36 (confidence interval = 1.103-1.680; p = .004). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was calculated to determine the cutoff number of lymph nodes that predicted recurrence with the highest sensitivity and specificity (area under the ROC curve, 0.794; SE, 0.077; p = .001). The sensitivity/specificity of >3 metastatic lymph nodes for predicting recurrence was 63.6%/77.0%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The number of metastatic lymph nodes in the central compartment was a statistical significant predictive factor associated with disease recurrence. Further study is required to confirm the relationship between the number of lymph nodes and disease recurrence. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E1172-E1176, 2016.

The efficacy of TachoComb on reducing postoperative complications after tonsillectomy in children.

OBJECTIVE: A fibrinogen/thrombin-based collagen fleece (TachoComb) is a powerful topical hemostatic agent that has been widely used in various surgical specialties with a favorable outcome. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of TachoComb application on postoperative complications after tonsillectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 1633 children had undergone tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy were included in this study. After removal of both tonsils, 1057 patients (64.7%) were treated with TachoComb on the tonsillectomy site and 576 without TachoComb. Post-tonsillectomy pain, hemorrhage rates, re-admission rates, and emergency surgery rates for post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage were evaluated between patients who received TachoComb and those who did not. RESULTS: TachoComb treatment significantly reduced post-tonsillectomy pain and emergency surgery rates for post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage. However, postoperative hemorrhage rate and re-admission rates for post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage were not statistically significant between TachoComb treatment group and control group. No patients had complications or adverse reactions after TachoComb treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The use of TachoComb after tonsillectomy significantly reduces pain and emergency surgery for severe post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage without an apparent adverse effect. Therefore, TachoComb may be a useful adjuvant in terms of efficacy and safety after tonsillectomy.

Endoscopic removal of a huge keratocystic odontogenic tumor in maxillary sinus.

Keratocystic odontogenic tumor is derived from the proliferation of residues of the dental lamina. Keratocystic odontogenic tumors have high recurrence rate from 0% to 62%, depending on the locations and types of treatment. The controversy still exists about treatment methods ranging from simple curettage to highly invasive en bloc resection. Furthermore, there is no consensus on the most effective surgical technique. We report the first case of removal via endonasal endoscopic approach for a huge, expansile keratocystic odontogenic tumor in the maxillary sinus extending to contralateral central incisor.