Diagnostic lobectomy for unilateral follicular nodules of the thyroid gland

We describe our technique of diagnostic lobectomy (DL) and the rationale it is based on. We define DL as a minimally invasive procedure consisting of total lobectomy and isthmusectomy, with preservation of the omolateral recurrent laryngeal nerve and parathyroid glands, but without digital exploration of the contralateral lobe. The fact that re-entry into the previously explored field to complete thyroidectomy increases the risk of complications must be taken into consideration. The subjects were 63 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for unilobar follicular neoplasms of the thyroid gland between January 1997 and December 2002. There were 49 follicular adenomas and 14 carcinomas. In the 14 patients with thyroid cancer, total thyroidectomy was performed within 2 weeks after the first operation in a sterile environment with normal anatomical cleavage plains, avoiding any risk of injury to the laryngeal nerves and parathyroid glands. It is concluded that DL is a safe and suitable surgical procedure for patients with follicular-structured lesions of the thyroid gland.