All Cervical Sonography Is Not Created Equal

Excerpt

Because papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is frequently associated with cervical nodal metastases, and because the detection and removal of these metastatic nodes is believed to translate to a lower rate of recurrent or persistent disease, it is desirable to detect these nodal metastases preoperatively and properly address them during the index thyroid operation. It stands to reason that the most sensitive and accurate preoperative nodal staging should be associated with the greatest likelihood of applying the most expedient surgical procedure while minimizing unnecessary dissection. In this issue of Annals of Surgical Oncology, Oltmann and colleagues report on the recurrence rate in patients who underwent what they believe to be the most sensitive method of preoperative nodal staging, surgeon-performed ultrasound. They compare recurrence rates between patients who had preoperative cervical ultrasound performed by surgeons and nonsurgeons. Although this is a small retrospective study, the findings raise the question, “Are all cervical sonograms created equal?” …