High incidence of thyroid cancer in focal thyroid incidentaloma detected by 18F-fluorodexyglucose positron emission tomography in relatively young healthy subjects: results of 3-year follow-up.

As 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is becoming a common imaging modality, the number of thyroid incidentalomas identified by FDG-PET (PET incidentaloma) is increasing. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the risk of cancer in focal thyroid PET incidentaloma in healthy subjects of relatively younger age as well as the usefulness of repeated FDG-PET. The study was conducted with an observation period of three years. A total of 1,501 healthy volunteers (mean age, 43.5+/-9.7 years) underwent the first FDG-PET from August 2003 to July 2004. When focal thyroid PET incidentaloma was found, further diagnostic examination was conducted. When thyroid cancer was suspected, surgical resection was performed with the patient\u27s agreement. Patients with PET incidentaloma without surgery were offered annual US and FDG-PET and finally FNAB was performed in the fourth year. Focal thyroid PET incidentaloma was observed in 20 subjects. The final diagnoses in 20 subjects were malignant in 11 (ten papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and one thyroid carcinoma showing thymus-like differentiation), indeterminate in one, and benign in eight subjects. Seven patients not treated surgically at the first examination had annual FDG-PET. One patient with PTC showed increasing SUVmax, but another with a benign nodule exhibited a similar increase. Others (one with PTC, one with an indeterminate nodule, and three with benign nodules) exhibited negligible SUVmax changes. When closely examined, focal thyroid PET incidentaloma in relatively young healthy adults has a high probability of malignancy. Repeated FDG-PET to follow up patients with thyroid nodules is ineffective

Compression Myelopathy Caused by Anterolisthesis and Hypertrophic Ligamentumflavum in the Adjacent Segment 11years after Cervical Laminoplasty-A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Introduction: Symptomatic adjacent segment disease after anterior cervical decompression and fusion has been well described, but there have been few reports of symptomatic adjacent segment disease after cervical laminoplasty.&nbsp;Case report: The authors report on a 69-year-old female gradually developed gait disturbance due to C7 anterolisthesis and ligamentumflavum thickening with an onset 11 years after conventional C3-7 laminoplasty. The patient underwent laminectomy from C6 to T1 and was able to return to ambulation. However, she experienced further deterioration in her ambulatory status four years after the second surgery, due to further anterior slippage of C7.Finally; she underwent posterior decompression and fusion from C5 to T3. The patient was able to return to ambulation with the assistance of a cane despite some level of spasticity.&nbsp;Conclusion: Compression myelopathy may occur as a late effect adjacent segment disease that produces a deteriorated condition after conventional cervical laminoplasty. Anterolisthesis with thickened ligamentumflavum at the cervico-thoracic junction needs to be fused and instrumented.</p