Functional Capacity of the Thyroid Autograft: An Experimental Study

Functional capacity of the thyroid autograft and heterograft: An experimental study

“…As compatible with the research of Papaziogas et al39 and O'Malley et al,40 the functional thyroid follicles were found in all autografts and heterografts by the end of the 8th week. The presence of cuboid or cylindrical follicular cells, as expected by the rise of TSH, proves the preservation of the autoregulatory mechanism between the hypothalamus, hypophysis, and grafts.…”

“…It seems that there is a “latent period” between thyroidectomy and initiation of the function of the autograft, which may be necessary for the vascular supply of the autograft from the surrounding tissues. During this period, a transient hypothyroidism can develop 23, 32, 36–39…”

Heterotopic thyroid autotransplantation: A preliminary clinical study

“…Roy et al reported that only 4 of 7 specimens in patients with Grave disease were functioning, but the weight (2‐3 g compared to 15 g in the present study) and technique were different. The same study also showed that 6 of 8 patients with multinodular goiter had a functioning autograft, although, in this case, the weight of implanted tissue was 12 g. Latent periods before the up‐rise of thyroid hormone levels and the subsequent gradual decrease of TSH after thyroid autotransplantation (2 and 4 months, respectively) were previously reported, and shorter latent periods were reported in animal studies (2‐5 and 4 weeks, respectively) …”

“…A clear interpretation of thyroid autotransplantation outcomes is, therefore, not possible based on the results of the aforementioned studies. Experimental studies have also confirmed the ability of both freshly autotransplanted and cryopreserved thyroid tissue to regain the euthyroid status in thyroidectomized animals . However, only few clinical trials explored the potentials of thyroid autotransplantation in patients with benign thyroid disorders, with wide discrepancies in their methodologies …”

“…Experimental studies have also confirmed the ability of both freshly autotransplanted and cryopreserved thyroid tissue to regain the euthyroid status in thyroidectomized animals. 4,5 However, only few clinical trials explored the potentials of thyroid autotransplantation in patients with benign thyroid disorders, with wide discrepancies in their methodologies. [8][9][10][11][12] In the present preliminary clinical study, the authors explored the ability of heterotopic autotransplanted thyroid tissue to regain the euthyroid status in 18 patients with heterogeneous characteristics and benign thyroid pathologies, with the aim of examining the feasibility of thyroid autotransplantation and the main determinants of thyroid tissue engraftment and functionality, as a foundation for designing larger scale selective and comparative studies.…”