title: [Operation for differentiated thyroid cancer: a experience of 546 cases].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To approach reasonable operational mode of differentiated thyroid cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospectively review 546 differentiated thyroid cancer patients who received bilateral thyroidectomy with or without cervical lymph node excision from January 2001 to December 2006.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No death case happened during operation and hospitalization. The positive percentage of cervical lymph node metastasis was 76.2% (358/470). The incidence rate of single lateral recurrent laryngeal nerve injury was 1.1% (6 cases), parathyroid gland partly injury was 0.4% (2 cases), superior laryngeal nerve injury was 0.7% (4 cases), bleeding was 0.6% (3 cases) and esophagus injury after operation was 0.2% (1 case). There were no bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve injury found.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Total thyroidectomy is an essential operational mode for differentiated thyroid cancer. It is necessary to excise cervical lymph node when the tumor's diameter exceeds 1 cm.
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Union Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chun-ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D037981:Neck Dissection; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*