Long-term outcomes of central neck dissection for cN0 papillary thyroid carcinoma

CND does not confer any clear advantage in the treatment of low-risk patients, regardless of surgical procedure. Instead, bilateral CND may be effective in limiting disease relapse and/or progression in patients at higher prognostic risk. Our data indicate that elective CND does not confer any clear advantage in terms of locoregional recurrence and long-term survival, as demonstrated by outcomes of the study Groups, regardless of their different prognostic risk. Elective CND allows a more accurate pathologic staging of central neck lymph nodes, despite its increasing the risk of permanent hypoparathyroidism. Intraoperative pathologic staging is a valuable tool to assess the risk of controlateral lymph node metastasis in the central neck compartment and to limit more aggressive surgery only to cases, otherwise understaged, with lymph node metastasis.