Clinical analysis of remnant and recurrence of nodular goiter after operation

Objective To analyze the cause of recurrence of nodular goiter after operation and how to prevent the complications.Method Seventy cases of recurrent nodular goiter among 967 cases of primary nodular goiter from January 2005 to July 2009 were studied retrospectively.The patients received TSH ( thyroid stimulating hormone ) inhibitor after operation and 0.5 to 5-year follow-up.Results In the 47 cases of unilat-eral operation,nodular goiter recurred in 20 cases in the same side,13 cases in the other side and 14 cases in the bilateral sides.In the 21 cases of bilateral operation,nodular goiter recurred in 14 cases in unilateral side,7 cases in bilateral sides.Nodular goiter recurred in 2 cases of unknown operation history.Unilateral total or subtotal thyroidectomy were performed in unilateral recurrence.Bilateral total or subtotal thyroidetomy were performed in bilateral recurrence.The incidence rate of complications was higher in reoperation group than in primary operation group.Conclusions Post operation recurrence rate of thyroid goiter is correlated with pathological charac-teristics,operation modality and incomplete TSH inhibitor treatment.Standard operation modality,TSH inhibitor treatment and cognition of pathological characteristics can decrease the recurrent rate.