Faculty Opinions recommendation of Revised American Thyroid Association management guidelines for patients with thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer.
Radical neck dissection was considered the treatment of choice for differentiated thyroid cancer at one time {1}. This was an operation which was relatively quick, safe and resulted in macroscopic disease clearance. However, it was associated with high rates of morbidity. A vogue for a much less aggressive “berry picking” approach to removal of macroscopically involved neck nodes has largely been abandoned due to unacceptably high recurrence rates. As experience in neck surgery has improved, a compartment-oriented neck dissection is recommended as the operation of choice for patients with evidence of neck disease by most authors, as reflected in these guidelines from the American Thyroid Association. This Recommendation is of an article referenced in an F1000 Faculty Review also written by Iain Nixon.