Safety and outcomes after oesophagectomy in southern New Zealand: a 25-year audit of a low volume centre.

BACKGROUND: Over the last 2 decades, outcomes for oesophageal cancer have improved due to advances in surgical and oncological practice. Optimizing outcomes by centralization of oesophagectomy to high-volume centres has been observed. The aim of this study was to establish if technical and oncological outcomes after oesophagectomy in southern New Zealand are comparable to recent benchmarks. METHODS: Consecutive patients undergoing oesophagectomy for cancer and benign pathology at Dunedin Hospital from 1995 to 2019 were prospectively audited. For malignant cases, histology was obtained retrospectively along with details of neo-adjuvant and adjuvant therapy. The primary outcome was disease-specific survival, stratified by time, resection margin, and TNM staging. Secondary outcomes included mortality and morbidity of oesophagectomy. Complications were graded using the Clavien-Dindo classification. RESULTS: Oesophagectomy was performed in 108 patients, and 99 patients had surgery for oesophageal malignancy. The median survival was 35.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 30.0-93.4) months and the 5-year survival overall was 41.7%. Comparing survival in patients undergoing oesophagectomy up to 2006 and afterwards showed an improvement in 5-year survival (30.3%, 95% CI (14.2-60.0) versus 47.8%, 95% CI (32.5, not reached), respectively, P = 0.041). There were two perioperative deaths (1.8%), six clinical anastomotic leaks (5.5%), four anastomotic strictures (3.7%) and five chylothoraces (4.6%). CONCLUSION: This 25-year survey of oesophagectomy in southern New Zealand audits the results of a low volume centre, where a variety of neo-adjuvant treatments have been used. Despite this, perioperative morbidity, mortality and survival are comparable to those achieved by international high-volume centres.

Bethesda III thyroid nodules: the role of ultrasound in clinical decision making.

BACKGROUND: Assessment for thyroid nodules includes ultrasound (US) and cytology according to the Bethesda classification. There is no firm consensus regarding clinical management for nodules classified as Bethesda III. Our aim was investigate the value of US to predict malignancy in these nodules. METHODS: Patients with Bethesda III nodules who underwent thyroid surgery from July 2011 to July 2013 were included. Inclusion criteria mandated that US were available for review by two observers blinded to each other's results and histological outcome. The nodules were scrutinized with six US criteria: hypoechoic attenuation (HA), irregular margins (IM), taller than wide, microcalcifications (MC), loss of halo, and increased central vascularity. Disagreements between observers were solved by consensus. RESULTS: There were 141 patients (121 women) with a mean age of 55 years. Mean nodule size was 25 mm. The malignancy rate was 13 %. Interobserver ratios were moderate to very strong for all six predictors (kappa = 0.60-0.94). However, only HA, IM, and MC were predictors of malignancy by univariate analysis (all p < 0.002). Logistic regression revealed an odds ratio of malignancy versus no malignancy for HA 4.8, IM 3.3, and MC 4.0 (all p < 0.05). The positive and negative predictive value for malignancy when having one or more of these three criteria was 22 % and 98 %, respectively. CONCLUSION: HA, IM, and MC were predictors of malignancy in Bethesda III nodules. In addition, the negative predictive value for any of these three criteria was high; a nodule that lacks all of these three criteria is thus unlikely to be malignant.

Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy provides a conservative surgical option for multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1-primary hyperparathyroidism.

BACKGROUND: Many authors advocate routine subtotal parathyroidectomy or total parathyroidectomy and autotransplantation for patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1). Many of these patients are young and recurrence may take decades. Four-gland parathyroid exploration carries a higher risk of complication than minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP). The aim of this study was to assess the role of selective removal of only abnormal glands for MEN1 in the era of MIP. METHODS: For this retrospective, cohort study we collected data on patients undergoing parathyroidectomy for MEN1 from an endocrine surgery database. We reviewed preoperative localization studies, operative findings, histopathology, and clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Twenty-six patients underwent parathyroidectomy for MEN1-associated hyperparathyroidism over the 23-year study period. Six of 10 (60%) patients in the total parathyroidectomy group and 4 of 10 (40%) patients in the subtotal parathyroidectomy group developed hypocalcemia. The subtotal and total parathyroidectomy groups both had a recurrence rate of 30% with a mean follow-up rate of 106 and 133 months, respectively. The MIP group had no hypocalcemia or recurrence with a mean follow-up of 19 months. CONCLUSION: MIP with excision of only documented abnormal parathyroid glands provides an acceptable outcome for patients with MEN1, avoiding the potential for permanent hypoparathyroidism in young patients. It is accepted that recurrent disease is inevitable in these patients; however, such recurrence may take decades to occur and may be able to be dealt with by a further focused procedure.

A multicenter cohort study of total thyroidectomy and routine central lymph node dissection for cN0 papillary thyroid cancer.

BACKGROUND: The role of routine central lymph node dissection (CLND) for papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of routine CLND after total thyroidectomy (TTx) in the management of patients with PTC who were clinically node negative at presentation with emphasis on stimulated thyroglobulin (Tg) levels and reoperation rates. METHODS: This retrospective, multicenter, cohort study used pooled data from 3 international Endocrine Surgery units in Australia, the United States, and England. All study participants had PTC >1 cm without preoperative evidence of lymph node disease (cN0). Group A patients had TTx alone and group B had TTx with the addition of CLND. RESULTS: There were 606 patients included in the study. Group A had 347 patients and group B 259 patients. Stimulated Tg values were lower in group B before initial radioiodine ablation (15.0 vs 6.6 ng/mL; P = .025). There was a trend toward a lower Tg at final follow-up in group B (1.9 vs 7.2 ng/mL; P = .11). The rate of reoperation in the central compartment was lower in group B (1.5 vs 6.1%; P = .004). The number of CLND procedures required to prevent 1 central compartment reoperation was calculated at 20. CONCLUSION: The addition of routine CLND in cN0 papillary thyroid carcinoma is associated with lower postoperative Tg levels and reduces the need for reoperation in the central compartment.