title: Long-term follow-up ultrasonography after lobectomy in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma patients: A single-center study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to assess the prevalence of tumor recurrence and to determine the appropriate interval of follow-up ultrasonography (US) in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) patients who underwent lobectomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between January and December 2006, 137 patients underwent a lobectomy for the treatment of PTMC and at least one postoperative US follow-up examination. The postoperative follow-up US was performed by a single radiologist for all patients. Based on the follow-up US and histopathological results, tumor recurrence and nodal metastasis were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the 137 patients, the following diagnoses were made after lobectomy: intraglandular PTMC (n = 104), focally perithyroidal PTMC invasion within surgical margins (n = 18), nodal metastasis to the ipsilateral level VI node (n = 20), and satellite PTMC (n = 7). The patients showed differences in the number of post-operative follow-up US sessions and in the intervals of those sessions. Of the 137 patients, 135 (98.5%) exhibited no tumor recurrence on the follow-up US, whereas 2 (1.5%) exhibited tumor recurrence in the remnant thyroid gland. In these two patients with tumor recurrence, suspicious thyroid nodules were detected at the 96- and 90-month follow-up US, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, the PTMC tumor recurrence rate was low, indicating that early post-lobectomy follow-up US in short intervals is not beneficial for detecting PTMC recurrence.
authors: a Department of Radiology , Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine , Busan , South Korea.
authors: Dong Wook
authors: DW
authors: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D013965:Thyroidectomy; D013997:Time Factors; D014463:Ultrasonography; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Follow-up; lobectomy; papillary thyroid microcarcinoma; thyroid; ultrasonography