Long-term results of surgical treatment of diffuse toxic goiter

Abstract

Seventy-six case histories of patients operated on at Surgical Department of Endocrinology Research Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences in 1992-1993 were analyzed in order to evaluate the remote results of surgical treatment of diffuse toxic goiter (DTG) and potentialities of their predicting before surgery. The following factors were analyzed: age by the moment of disease manifestation, sex, initial doses of thyrostatics, duration of antithyroid therapy, thyroid function by the moment of operation, volume of the gland, indications for surgery, and scope of intervention. Thyroid function at different terms after surgical treatment was assessed by clinical data and levels of TTH and free T₄. Five years after operation for DTG, 26.6%) patients were in a state of euthyrosis, 68.2%) in hypothyrosis, and 5.2%) patients developed relapses. No relationships were detected between the size and function of the thyroid before surgery, presence of endocrine ophthalmopathy, and thyroid function in remote period after surgery. The risk of postoperative hypothyrosis in DTG is higher in patients treated with thyrostatics for a long time and in elderly subjects.