Table 2. Summary of findings from articles evaluating the clinical significance of ETT in myasthenia gravis.
| Author [year] | Country | Surgical approach | Total No. | No. with thymoma [%] | No. with ETT [%] | Clinical significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashour [1995] (24) | Saudi Arabia | Transcervical-transsternal ThX | 38 | 0 [0] | 15 [40] | + |
| Mineo [2000] (25) | Belgium | Left-sided VATS | 31 | 4 [13] | 10 [32] | − |
| Ozdemir [2002] (26) | Turkey | Median sternotomy | 61 | 15 [25] | 17 [28] | + |
| Essa [2003] (27) | Saudi Arabia | Transcervical-transsternal ThX | 30 | 0 [0] | 10 [33] | + |
| El-Medany [2003] (28) | Saudi Arabia | Transcervical-transsternal ThX | 100 | 7 [7] | 27 [27] | + |
| Zielinski [2004] (30) | Poland | Median sternotomy | 58 | 0 [0] | 33 [57] | − |
| Ponseti [2008] (32) | Spain | Median sternotomy | 83 | 0 [0] | 35 [42] | + |
| Ambrogi [2012] (37) | Italy | Median sternotomy | 106 | 0 [0] | 51 [48] | + |
| Marulli [2013] (39) | Italy | Left-sided RATS | 100 | 8 [8] | 26 [26] | − |
+ means that the presence of ectopic thymic tissue is associated with poor outcome of myasthenia gravis after thymectomy. − means that the presence of ectopic thymic tissue is not associated with the clinical outcome of myasthenia gravis after thymectomy. ThX, thymectomy; ETT, ectopic thymic tissue; VATS, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery; RATS, robotic-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.