title: Thyroidectomy and neck dissection for the carcinoma of the thyroid gland in children.
abstract: A peculiarity in thyroid cancer in children is discussed in terms of clinical course and pathology. A case report of well differentiated papillary carcinoma of the thyroid gland in a 6-year-old boy is presented, with emphasis on the clinical course and pathology. The clinical course indicated a slowly growing, firm tumor lateral to the superior cornu of the thyroid cartilage, up to the hyoid bone. As treatment of the tumor and its lymph node metastases, a hemithyroidectomy with simple neck dissection was performed. Thyroid hormone was administered for suppression of endogenous thyroid-stimulating hormone postoperatively, and the patient tolerated this therapy well. An review of the literature dealing with the question of whether or not a radical neck dissection is appropriate in thyroid cancer in children was carried out.
mesh_terms: D000231:Adenocarcinoma, Papillary / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000379:methods