title: Thyroidectomy for non-familial medullary carcinoma.
abstract: Two cases of non-familial medullary carcinoma of the thyroid which had thyroid tissue remaining after initial thyroidectomy were shown to contain residual, intra-glandular carcinoma at reoperation. This observation, the distribution of C cells in the normal thyroid gland and the lymph node spread of this carcinoma have led to the proposal of a bilateral 90 per cent upper pole thyroidectomy including the superior parathyroids for cases of non-familial medullary carcinoma. This operation removes all the C-cell-bearing area and leaves a small thyroid remnant at the lower pole for preservation of the inferior parathyroid glands. The operation is discussed with reference to these factors.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000379:methods*