Tracheal laceration after laser ablation of nodular goitre.

Abstract

A tracheal perforation was discovered after Nd-YAG laser thermal ablation (LTA) of a thyroid nodule. The LTA is a relatively new method of treatment of thyroid nodules, which consists of delivering laser energy into the thyroid by means of two optical fibres. The patient presented with a multinodular goitre and initially refused surgery, then underwent an LTA of a thyroid nodule. Fifty days after the procedure she started to have symptoms related to a tracheal stenosis and, after tracheoscopy, a tracheal perforation was diagnosed and she underwent a total thyroidectomy plus tracheal repair. The results of the histological examination revealed a goitre with a focal area of papillary carcinoma. This particular complication is likely the first of its kind to be described after the LTA of a thyroid nodule.

• Authors: Gaetano Di Rienzo, Corrado Surrente, Camillo Lopez, Rosatea Quercia
• Journal: Interactive cardiovascular and thoracic surgery (Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg) Vol. 14 Issue 1 Pg. 115-6 (Jan 2012) ISSN: 1569-9285 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 22108924 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Topics

• Aged
• Female
• Goiter, Nodular (surgery)
• Humans
• Laser Therapy (adverse effects)
• Lasers, Solid-State (adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Postoperative Complications
• Rupture
• Thyroidectomy (adverse effects, methods)
• Trachea (injuries)
• Tracheal Diseases (diagnosis, etiology)