Left Lateral Neck Dissection for Metastatic Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma
Sarah A. Brownlee, MD; Allison S. Letica-Kriegel, MD, MSc; Antonia E. Stephen, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital

Papillary thyroid carcinoma frequently metastasizes to lateral neck lymph nodes, necessitating compartment-based lymph node dissection following initial thyroidectomy. Surgical education videos provide valuable resources for training surgeons in complex neck dissection techniques. A detailed surgical procedure was documented in a patient with biopsy-proven metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma in level IV lymph nodes following prior total thyroidectomy and central neck dissection. A compartment-based dissection of levels IIb, III, and IV was performed with preservation of vital neurovascular structures. The procedure was successfully completed with removal of metastatic lymph nodes while preserving the critically important physiological structures throughout the dissection.