Superselective Versus Selective Neck Dissection in the Treatment of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Background: Superselective lateral neck dissection (SSND), defined as dissection of 2 or less contiguous lateral cervical nodal levels, has emerged as a treatment option for metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), in place of a selective neck dissection (SND). There are few studies exploring outcomes of SSND compared to SND in this context. Materials and Methods: This was a single institution retrospective study. All patients who were diagnosed with PTC and had a lateral neck dissection from 2019 to 2022 were reviewed. Patient demographics and outcomes were compared. Results: A total of 136 patients met inclusion criteria. About 106 (78%) had a SND and 30 (22%) had a SSND. There was no significant difference between patients who underwent SND versus SSND regarding frequency of post-operative complications, length of stay (2.49 vs 2.31 days), post-operative thyroglobulin >10 ng/mL (21 vs 3 patients), regional recurrence (14% vs 17%), reoperation rates (16.7% vs 17.4%), or adjuvant radioactive iodine therapy (75% vs 63%; P > .05). Conclusions: SSND for PTC had similar short-term clinical outcomes when compared to SND.