Table 2.
Impact of intraoperative frozen-section analysis on surgical strategy
| Group 1 (UMC Mainz) |
Group 2 (PETS 2) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (n = 569) | iFS analysis (n = 203) | Total (n = 21 442) | iFS (n = 4681) | |
| Surgical procedure intended | ||||
| Unilateral surgery | 155 (27.2) | 74 (36.5) | n.a. | n.a. |
| Bilateral surgery | 412 (72.4) | 129 (63.5) | n.a. | n.a. |
| n.a. | 2 (0.4) | 0 (0) | 21 442 (100) | 4681 (100) |
| Surgical procedure performed | ||||
| Unilateral thyroid surgery | 174 (30.6) | 80 (39.4) | 6492 (30.3) | 1691 (36.1) |
| Bilateral thyroid surgery | 394 (69.2) | 123 (60.6) | 14 561 (67.9) | 2798 (59.8) |
| No thyroid resection | 1 (0.2) | 0 (0) | 389 (1.8) | 192 (4.1) |
| Change of surgical management following results of iFS analysis | ||||
| Change from unilateral to bilateral thyroid surgery | 6 of 74 (8) | n.a. | ||
| Change from intended thyroid surgery to thyroidectomy + central lymph node dissection* in disease assumed benign before surgery† | 4 of 128 (3.1) | 26 of 3636 (0.7) | ||
Values in parentheses are percentages.
*
Resection of more than three lymph nodes from each side of level 616.
†
Overall assessment includes clinical picture, sonography, elastography, scintigraphy, fine-needle aspiration cytology (with molecular genetic analyses), histology (for completion procedures only).
†
Intraoperative frozen-section (iFS) analysis values include lymph node assessments. UMC, University Medical Centre; PETS, Prospective Evaluation Study Thyroid Surgery; n.a., not assessed.