thymectomy

A thymectomy is mainly carried out in an adult.

Additionally, her myasthenia became difficult to control, and in August 1991 a thymectomy was performed.

A thymectomy is an operation to remove the thymus.

The disease process generally remains stationary after thymectomy (removal of the thymus).

We describe a female patient who developed both these conditions, the treatment of which was unsatisfactory until a thymectomy was performed.

Article: Outcome of an original video-assisted thoracoscopic extended thymectomy for thymoma.

Although most thymomas are benign, the thymus is usually removed (thymectomy) to prevent the potential spread of cancer.

Her myasthenia gravis became unresponsive to anti-cholinergics so a thymectomy was performed.

Myasthenia is treated with immunosuppressants, cholinesterase inhibitors and, in selected cases, thymectomy.

Patients who have undergone thymectomy for thymoma should be warned of possible severe side effects after yellow fever vaccination.

In fact, thymectomy seems to improve symptoms of myasthenia gravis in some patients, even if no tumor is present.

We believe that this report, considered with other evidence, suggests that the potential of thymectomy as a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease should be investigated further.

Other indications for thymectomy include the removal of thymomas and the treatment of myastenia gravis.

In another case, symptomatic improvement with plasmapherisis, thymectomy, and chronic immunosupression provide further support for an autoimmune or paraneoplastic basis.

Indeed, an uncontrolled trial of thymectomy in patients with ulcerative colitis resistant to conventional treatment has been reported to increase duration of remission.

Although thymectomy is believed to be a key element in the proposed treatment, there is a reported case of Morvan's Syndrome presenting itself post-thymectomy.

The thymus is believed to play a central role in the induction of autoimmunity in MG, and thymectomy generally leads to clinical improvement (23).

Plasmapheresis alone or in combination with steroids, sometimes also with thymectomy and azathioprine, have been the most frequently used therapeutic approach in treating Morvan's Syndrome.

About 10% of MG patients are found to have tumors in their thymus glands, in which case a thymectomy is a very effective treatment with long-term remission.

The exact mechanisms are, however, not convincingly clarified, although resection of the thymus (thymectomy) in MG patients without a thymus neoplasm often have positive results.

Thymomas can be malignant and are thought to be the onset of other diseases, as well, so many surgeons will only recommend the full sternotomy approach to a thymectomy.

Budde JM, Morris CD, Gal AA, et al.: Predictors of outcome in thymectomy for myasthenia gravis.

The most common reason for thymectomy in the United States is to gain surgical access to the heart in surgeries to correct congenital heart defects that are performed in the neonatal period.

Video-assisted approaches, such as laparoscopic surgery, are increasingly prescribed since the less invasive nature of the procedure strikes a balance with the lack of actual clinical evidence supporting thymectomy in non-thymomal cases.

Anecdotal evidence suggests MG patients with no evidence of thymoma may still benefit from thymectomy, thus the procedure is (unless and until a much-discussed clinical survey ever reaches a contraindicatory conclusion) commonly prescribed.