A Carbon Nanoparticle Lymphatic Tracer Protected Parathyroid Glands During Radical Thyroidectomy for Papillary Thyroid Non-Microcarcinoma

Abstract

The study assessed the role of an activated carbon nanoparticle lymphatic tracer in reducing unintentional damage to the parathyroid glands during thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid non-microcarcinoma diagnosed intraoperatively by cryosections. A total of 103 patients with papillary thyroid non-microcarcinomas diagnosed by intraoperative cryosection were randomly assigned to receive routine radical thyroidectomy or radical thyroidectomy following administration of activated carbon nanoparticle lymphatic tracer to the contralateral thyroid, at the department of Thyroid Surgery, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital (Guangzhou, China), between January 2012 and May 2013. The success of level VI lymphadenectomy and postoperative parathyroid function were compared. Administration of the activated carbon nanoparticle lymphatic tracer did not affect the frequency of recovered lymph nodes containing metastases; however, it did significantly reduce the incidence of permanent and transient hypoparathyroidism from 2 to 0 and 18 to 6, and reduced the mean recovery time for transient hypoparathyroidism from 57.0 days to 22.3 days. Administration of activated carbon nanoparticles to the contralateral thyroid after intraoperative cryosections did not contribute to lymphadenectomy for papillary thyroid non-microcarcinoma, but significantly protected parathyroid functions. This approach could decrease the morbidity of radical thyroidectomy and the occurrence of hypoparathyroidism.

The Role of Carbon Nanoparticles in Lymph Node Dissection and Parathyroid Gland Preservation during Surgery for Thyroid Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…After full-text analysis was performed, 41 studies were excluded, as the design, protocol and/or methodology used investigated a different PICO question to those of our study. Ultimately, 20 studies [ 19 , 20 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ] were included in the qualitative and quantitative synthesis. The flowchart of the studies selection process is shown in Figure 1 .…”

“…The publication date of the studies that were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis ranged from 2012 to 2021 with four studies published in 2021 [ 20 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. The shortest study period among the studies was eleven months [ 35 ], while the longest one was sixty months [ 29 ].…”

Carbon Nanoparticles for Thyroidectomy and Central Lymph Node Dissection for Thyroid Cancer

“…A total of 71 references were obtained through retrieval, and 12 articles 7,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] met the inclusion criteria. The literature search flowchart is shown in Figure 1.…”

The function of carbon nanoparticles to improve lymph node dissection and identification of parathyroid glands during thyroid reoperation for carcinoma

“…[ 12 – 14 ] Also it has been used to protect the function of PG and trace the lymph nodes in the initial surgery for thyroid cancer in recent years. [ 15 – 18 ] The average diameter of CNs is 150 nm, which makes it directly enter the lymphatic capillaries (the gap between lymphatic capillary cells is 120–500 nm), not the blood capillaries (the gap between blood capillary cells is 20–50 nm). [ 19 ] Moreover, CNs was safety and nontoxic to date.…”