The effectiveness of prophylactic ipsilateral central neck dissection in selected patients who underwent total thyroidectomy for clinically node-negative unilateral papillary thyroid carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Prophylactic central neck dissection (CND) in clinically node-negative (cN0) papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the benefits of prophylactic ipsilateral CND compared with bilateral CND in total thyroidectomy for cN0 unilateral PTC. METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 174 patients who underwent total thyroidectomies with prophylactic CND for cN0 unilateral PTC between January 2009 and May 2010. The prophylactic CND patients were divided into group 1, the ipsilateral CND group (n=74), and group 2, the bilateral CND group (n=100). The incidence of central lymph node metastasis (CLNM) and postoperative complications, such as hypoparathyroidism, recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, and recurrence were assessed. RESULTS: CLNM was found in 22 (29.8%) in group 1 and 69 (69%) in group 2. The incidence of postoperative severe hypocalcemia less than 7.0 was also significantly different (six patients [8.1%] in group 1 and 23 [23%] in group 2; p=0.009). Permanent hypoparathyroidism was significantly more frequent in group 2 (4.1% vs. 19%; p=0.005). However, the incidence of transient hypoparathyroidism, recurrence, and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury was not significantly different. CONCLUSION: Prophylactic ipsilateral CND has advantage not only to reduce incidence of some complications but also to have similar recurrence rate compared with bilateral CND. We suggest that prophylactic ipsilateral CND may be safe and effective for selected patients undergoing total thyroidectomy for cN0 unilateral PTC.