Laser Ablation of Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma
Laser Ablation of Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma
The purpose of this study is to explore whether percutaneous laser ablation (PLA) is a safe
 and effective alternative to removing papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) with surgery.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Age ≥ 18 years

 -  A single, cytologically confirmed papillary thyroid microcarcinoma

 -  Maximum diameter ≤ 10 mm

 -  Declined active surveillance

 -  The thyroid lesion must be solid without coarse calcifications greater than 2 mm

 -  No US evidence of extracapsular invasion and /or lymph node metastasis

 -  Preserved contralateral vocal cord function prior to PLA

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Thyroid cancer that is non papillary thyroid cancer (PTC)

 -  Clinical / US evidence of multicentric papillary thyroid cancer

 -  Thyroid lesion with a cystic component

 -  Lesion with US evidence of capsular invasion

 -  Clinical or ultrasonographic evidence of lymph node metastasis

 -  Subcapsular lesions abutting the posterior thyroid capsule (to avoid recurrent
 laryngeal nerve or parathyroid injury)

 -  Subcapsular lesions abutting the medial thyroid capsule (to avoid recurrent laryngeal
 nerve or tracheal injury)

 -  Pregnancy

 -  Contraindications to thyroid surgery