Total thyroidectomy in therapy-resistant Graves' disease.

BACKGROUND: Influences of total thyroidectomy have not been evaluated in patients with severe Graves' disease who might respond less satisfactorily to subtotal thyroid resection. METHODS: Thirty-three patients with Graves' disease underwent total thyroidectomy because of persistent endocrine ophthalmopathy (n = 28) or elevated thyrotrophin receptor antibody titers (n = 25) despite a mean of 2 years of thyrostatic therapy. Moreover, six and four patients had undergone radioiodine treatment and subtotal thyroid resection, respectively. Perioperative findings and complications have been investigated, as have influences on endocrine ophthalmopathy and thyrotrophin receptor antibody titers during a mean of 2.5 postoperative years. RESULTS: Total thyroidectomy substantiated mean thyroid weights of 17 gm, 2.3 hours of operating time, and total blood loss of 264 cc. Vocal cord paralysis and vitamin D-treated hypocalcemia occurred in two and three patients, respectively, and invariably persisted less than 6 months. Normalization of elevated thyrotrophin receptor antibody titers occurred in 86% of patients without radioiodine exposure, and stable or improved signs of endocrine ophthalmopathy were found in 96% of patients examined 6 or more months after the operation. CONCLUSIONS: Total thyroidectomy seems to be a surgically safe procedure in complicated Graves' disease and to provide normalization of therapy-resistant thyrotrophin receptor antibody titers. Because favorable influences might also encompass severe endocrine ophthalmopathy, prospective analysis on its efficiency is warranted.