Identification of the Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve

  • In order to limit any bleeding or tissue distortion that may compromise the identification of the parathyroid glands:
    • The RLN is identified ONLY after all parathyroid glands have been exposed AND a decision made as to which one to remove
  • The RLN is identified in the inferior portion of the neck caudal to the ITA:
    • The angle between the trachea and the ITA is visually bisected, and careful blunt dissection is performed along this line to identify the nerve (Figure)
  • Further dissection on the perineurium of the nerve toward the ITA can be performed to approximate the course of the RLN
Identification of the recurrent laryngeal nerve allows for safe and confident dissection and ligation of the vascular pedicle supplying the parathyroid gland. The angle between the inferior thyroid artery and the trachea is visually bisected, and areola tissue along this angle is spread with a fine hemostat to identify the nerve

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Thyroid Cancer

Hurtle Cell Carcinoma

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Indocyanine Green Flourescence Guided Parathyroidectomy

  • Indocyanine green fluorescence angiography may be a useful adjunct during parathyroidectomy and thyroid surgery.
  • https://doi.org/10.1016 j.surg.2017.08.018

Thyroid Cancer

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What is Parathyroid Hormone (PTH)?

  • Did you know that the first report for using intraoperative parathyroid hormone (IOPTH) measurement as an adjunct to guide removal of parathyroid tissue in a patient with hyperparathyroidism:
    • Was published greater than 25 years ago:
      • By Dr. G.L. Irvin the 3rd and colleagues? – Rodrigo Arrangoiz MS, MD, FACS, FSSO

👉CheckYourCalcium (realízate un calcio total en sangre).

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8256205

Skeletal Manifestations of Primary Hyperparathyroidism (PHPT)

  • Skeletal manifestations including osteopenia, osteoporosis, and osteitis fibrosa cystica:
    • Are found in approximately 15% of patients with PHPT
  • PHPT is linked with a reduction in bone mineral density (BMD):
    • Particularly in the cortical bone:
      • Such as in the distal third of the radius
    • In the lumbar region, composed all most exclusively by trabecular bone, and in the femoral region, composed by cortical and trabecular bone:
      • The decrease in BMD is less severe
  • Osteitis fibrosa cystica:
    • A skeletal manifestation that is rarely seen today:
      • Seen in less than five percent of patients with PHPT
    • Is caused by an increase in bone turnover:
      • Can be determined by finding an:
        • Elevated serum alkaline phosphatase level
    • The radiologic findings seen in patients with PHPT with bone disease are characterized by:
      • Subperiosteal resorption:
        • Most obvious on the radial aspect of the middle phalanx of the second and third fingers
      • Bone cysts
      • Tufting of the distal phalanges:
        • Which are best evaluated on plain x-rays of the hands
      • Brown or osteoclastic tumors:
        • Caused by the accumulations of osteoclasts and fibrous tissue:
        • Brown tumors have a slightly greater incidence in PHPT than in secondary HPT:
          • 3% versus 2%
        • In patients with chronic kidney disease:
          • Persistent and excessive urinary calcium elimination:
            • Can lower serum calcium level:
              • And lead to an increase in PTH secretion
        • This results in mobilization of calcium from the bones:
          • Through rapid osteoclastic turnover of bone to maintain normal serum calcium levels
        • In regions where bone loss is exceptionally fast:
          • Hemorrhage, and reparative granulation tissue, with active, vascular, proliferating fibrous tissue may replace the normal marrow contents:
            • Resulting in a brown tumor
        • Hemosiderin imparts the brown color (hence the name of the lesions
      • The skull also may be affected:
        • Appears mottled with a loss of definition of the inner and outer cortices
  • Patients with normal serum alkaline phosphatase levels:
    • Almost never have clinically apparent osteitis fibrosa cystica
  • Bone disease correlates with serum PTH and vitamin D levels
Generalized osteopenia, erosion of the terminal phalangeal tufts and subperiosteal resorption of bone particularly the radial aspects of the 2nd and 3rd middle phalanges.
Brown Tumors
Salt and Pepper Skull

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Thyroid Cancer

  • Clinical and pathologic staging of patients with cancer is valuable for many reasons, including the following:
    • To estimate risk of recurrence and disease-specific mortality for an individual patient
    • To tailor decisions regarding postoperative adjunctive therapy (such as the need for radioiodine [RAI] ablation and degree of thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH] suppression):
      • To the patient’s risk for disease recurrence and mortality
    • To make decisions regarding the frequency, modality, and intensity of follow-up based upon an individual patient’s risk of recurrence and mortality
    • To enable accurate communication regarding a patient among health care professionals
    • To allow evaluation of differing therapeutic strategies applied to comparable groups of patients in clinical studies
    • To provide “a method of conveying clinical experience to others without ambiguity
  • Initial postoperative staging:
    • You can use the several staging systems to estimate disease-specific mortality:
      • Tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) staging systems
      • MSKCC:
        • Grade, Age, Metastases, Extent, Size (GAMES) 
      • Mayo Clinic:
        • Metastases, Age, Complete Resection, Invasion, Size  (MACIS)
      • Karolinska Hospital and Institute:
        • DNA ploidy, Age, Metastases, Extent, Size (DAMES)
      • Age, Grade, tumor Extent, Size (AGES)
      • Lahey Clinic:
        • Age, distant Metastasis, Extent, Size (AMES)
    • Clinical and pathologic staging system:
      • Such as the American Thyroid Association (ATA) system:
        • To estimate the risk of recurrence  
  • Re-staging during follow-up:
    • These initial risk assessments are then:
      • Actively modified based upon data obtained during follow-up:
        • That reflect the individualized patient’s response to therapy
    • This dynamic risk assessment approach:
      • Allows for more accurate risk assessments:
        • Than either a static estimate of risk based on the:
          • TNM staging system or the ATA risk of recurrence classification system 
  • The ATA recommends the TNM staging system:
    • For all patients with differentiated thyroid cancer and any of the:
      • Postoperative clinicopathologic staging systems:
        • To achieve more accurate risk factor stratification 
  • It should be recognized, however:
    • No staging system reliably predicts outcome in individual patients:
      • Clinicians should use individual clinicopathologic characteristics:
        • To determine the specific treatment for a given patient
No Difference in Outcome in High Dose vs Low Dose Radioactive iodine

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Elderly patients with Primary Hyperparathyroidism

  • Elderly patients with pHPT are at increased risk of bone-related disease and fractures and are more likely to have neuropsychiatric complaints; however, referral for parathyroidectomy in the elderly is often limited due to the perceived risk of surgery.
  • Parathyroidectomy is the only curative treatment.
  • This study found that parathyroidectomy in the elderly was not associated with higher morbidity.
  • Elderly patients with hypercalcemia should be evaluated for pHPT and if confirmed should be considered for parathyroidectomy.
  • Am J Surg. 2021 Sep;222(3):549-553. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2021.01.027.

Thyroid Cancer

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Breast Fibroadenomas

• Fibroadenomas of the breast are benign tumors:

• Composed of stromal and epithelial elements:

• That are commonly seen in young women 

• It is a common benign breast lesion:

• Results from the excess proliferation of connective tissue:

• Fibroadenomas characteristically contain both:

• Stromal and epithelial cells 

• Epidemiology: 

• They usually occur in women:

• Between the ages of 10 and 40 years

• It is the most common breast mass:

• In the adolescent and young adult population:

• Their peak incidence is between:

• 25 and 40 years:

• The incidence decreases after 40 years 

• Clinical presentation:

• The typical presentation is in a woman of reproductive age:

• With a mobile palpable breast lump

• Due to their hormonal sensitivity:

• Fibroadenomas commonly:

• Enlarge during pregnancy and involute at menopause:

• Hence, they rarely present after the age of 40 years

• The lesions are well defined and well-circumscribed clinically and the overlying skin is normal:

• The lesions are not fixed to the surrounding parenchyma and slip around under the palpating fingers:

• Hence the colloquial term a breast “mouse”

• Pathology:

• A fibroadenoma is a type of adenomatous breast lesion:

• It contains epithelium (stromal and epithelial elements):

• Has minimal malignant potential

• Multiple fibroadenomas occur in:

• 10% to 15% of patients

• Patients with multiple fibroadenomas:

• Tend to have a strong family history of these tumors

• Fibroadenomas are assumed to be:

• Aberrations of normal breast development (ANDI) or the product of hyperplastic processes:

• Rather than true neoplasms

• Fibroadenomas can be stimulated by:

• Estrogen and progesterone:

• Some fibroadenomas also have receptors and respond to:

• Growth hormone and epidermal growth factor

• When found in an adolescent girl:

• The term juvenile fibroadenoma is more appropriate 

• Location:

• Although they can be located anywhere in the breast:

• There may be a predilection for the upper outer quadrant 

• Associations:

• Cyclosporin use

• Cowden syndrome

• Multiple or complex fibroadenomas:

• May indicate a slightly increased risk for breast cancer:

• The relative risk of breast cancer in patients with such fibroadenomas: 

• Is approximately twice that of patients of similar age without fibroadenomas 

• A patient’s age:

• Determines the preferred imaging method

• In general, ultrasonography (US) is preferred:

• If a palpable mass is found

• If a patient is younger than 30 years

• If the patient is pregnant 

• Mammography and US are both useful if the patient has: 

• A palpable mass

• Is older than 30 years

• Is not pregnant

• In patients younger than 30 years: 

• The most appropriate modality is ultrasound:

• Because the patient is spared radiation exposure and because the likelihood for fibroadenoma is high

• Mammography is not indicated as the primary imaging study in women younger than 30 years:

• Unless high-risk factors are present

• Computed tomography (CT) scanning:

• Is not initially indicated for assessing a palpable lump in a woman in women younger than 30 years:

• Because of radiation exposure 

• The inability of CT to demonstrate micro-calcifications

• The lack of specificity in the findings

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI):

• Is not initially indicated for assessing a palpable lump in women younger than 30 year:

• Mainly because of its high cost and the high likelihood of false-positive findings

• Positron emission tomography:

• Is expensive and is not universally available

• On mammograms:

• Fibroadenomas have a spectrum of features:

• Well-circumscribed discrete oval to round mass:

• Hypodense or isodense to the breast glandular tissue:

• Mass with macro-lobulation or partially obscured margin

• Involuting fibroadenomas in older, typically postmenopausal patients may contain:

• Calcification:

• Often producing the classic:

• Coarse popcorn calcification appearance

• In some cases the whole lesion is calcified 

• Calcification may also present as crushed stone-like micro-calcification:

• Which makes differentiation from malignancy difficult 

• On ultrasound:

• Fibroadenomas appear as:

• Circumscribed, homogeneous (generally uniform hypoechogenicity), round to oval, hypoechoic masses:

• That may have gentle lobulations:

• Macro-lobulated lesion

• A smooth, thin, echogenic capsule:

• Sometimes a thin echogenic rim (pseudocapsule) may be seen sonographically 

• Variable acoustic enhancement; and homogeneity 

• Intralesional sonographically detectable calcification: 

• May be seen in approximately 10% of cases

• On MRI:

• Fibroadenomas typically appear as smooth masses:

• With high signal intensity on T2-weighted images

• Enhancement with the administration of gadolinium-based contrast

• T1:

• Typically hypointense or isointense compared with adjacent breast tissue 

• T2:

• Can be hypointense or hyperintense compared with adjacent breast tissue  

• T1 C+ (Gd):

• Can be variable:

• But a majority will show slow initial contrast enhancement:

• Followed by a persistent delayed phase:

• Type I enhancement curve:

• Non-enhancing internal septations may be seen  

• Diagnosis:

• These lesions are easily biopsied under ultrasound guidance

• When a lesion has the typical features of a fibroadenoma on ultrasound and there are no clinical red flags:

• They can be safely followed clinically 

• When lesions enlarge or have atypical imaging findings:

• Ultrasound-guided core biopsy is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure that will give a diagnosis with virtually no complications 

• There may be a maximum diameter above which a biopsy should be done if no previous imaging is available:

• The reason for intervention based on size is that a phyllodes tumor may be indistinguishable from a fibroadenoma on ultrasound:

• A maximum diameter of 2.5 cm may be a useful benchmark for biopsy if you have no previous imaging 

• Interval enlargement:

• Is an indication for biopsy 

• Symptomatic, progressively enlarging masses or atypical presentations:

• May warrant surgical excision

• If a needle biopsy shows that a mass less than 2 centimeters in size is a fibroadenoma, with no other concerning features:

• It does not have to be surgically removed

• The patient’s core biopsy pathology demonstrating a fibroadenoma is consistent with the typical imaging findings of a smooth, round, hypoechoic mass:

• As the biopsy is concordant:

• No further intervention is needed:

• Follow-up for reassurance is acceptable

• Treatment and prognosis:

• They are benign lesions with minimal or no malignant potential 

• The risk of malignant transformation is extremely low: 

• Has been reported to range around 0.0125% to 0.3%

• Indications for biopsy include: 

• Enlarging lesion 

• Atypical findings on ultrasound 

• A lesion above 2.5 cm and there are no previous studies for comparison

• Patient peace of mind:

• Some patients are simply not happy with a palpable mass in the breast without a histological diagnosis:

• This is a valid and reasonable indication for biopsy

• References:

• Tan BY, Tan PH A Diagnostic Approach to Fibroepithelial Breast Lesions. Surg Pathol Clin. 2018 Mar;11(1):17-42.

• American Society of Breast Surgeons – benign breast disease. January 8, 2018. Choosing Wisely website. http://www.choosingwisely.org/clinician-lists/asbrs-benign-breast-disease-biopsy-proven-fibroadenomas-smaller-than-2-cm/. Accessed October 17, 2019.

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