Role of subtotal thyroidectomy in the management of the follicular neoplasm of the thyroid.

Clinically apparent thyroid nodules affect 4% to 7% of the population in North America. Malignant neoplasms of the thyroid comprise only about 1% of all cancers and are found in only 20% of patients undergoing thyroid surgery for suspected thyroid carcinoma. A follicular neoplasm of the thyroid is the most common histologic finding. During surgery, using frozen-section techniques, it is often difficult to distinguish between a benign and malignant lesion. The diagnosis may be deferred following intraoperative frozen-section examination of tissue or changed on evaluation of embedded tissue. In this series of 1224 thyroidectomies from 1976 to 1990, the pathology data from thyroidectomy surgical specimens submitted to tissue analysis were evaluated. It was found that subtotal thyroidectomy was effective in the management of the follicular neoplasm. This approach significantly reduced the morbidity and complications of patients undergoing thyroidectomy.