The Va Level Lymphadenectomy in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

ABSTRACT Introduction: Thyroid cancer is the most common malignancy of the endocrine system. The main treatment for papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) is surgery. If lymph nodes of the neck are involved, dissection is performed at the required levels. There is still no comprehensive consensus regarding the performance and extent of lymphadenectomy during thyroidectomy in PTC. Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the histopathological importance of lymphadenectomy in the Va region of the neck. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional research, after total thyroidectomy, the dissection of level V for sublevel Va (Vas and Vai sublevels) and Vb was done separately. Results: The total number of patients included in the study was 36 patients with PTC diagnosis who subjected to neck dissection surgery. Eleven patients had multicentricity, nine patients had extracapsular invasion, and two patients had contralateral lymphadenopathy. Only one patient had lymph node metastases in the inferior part of Va area (Va inf.). Conclusion: The neck dissection at the lla to Vb levels is a sufficient surgical treatment for patients with PTC.