Thymectomy Essay

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Thymectomy From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Thymectomy Intervention A thymectomy is an operation to remove the thymus. It usually results in remission of myasthenia gravis with the help of medication including steroids. However, this remission may not be permanent. Thymectomy is indicated when thymoma are present in the thymus. 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. Surgical approaches[edit source] There are a number of surgical approaches to the removal of the thymus gland: transsternal (through the breast bone), transcervical (through a small neck incision), transthoracic (through one or both sides of the chest.) The transsternal approach is most common and uses the same length-wise incision through the sternum (breast bone) used for most open-heart surgery. It is espoused by surgeons such as Alfred Jaretzki and is the most commonly performed procedure due to its relative simplicity. The transcervical approach is a less invasive procedure that allows for removal of the entire thymus gland through a small neck incision. It has been popularized by Joel Cooper. Because of its increased technical demands, it is performed by only a relative few surgeons in North America: Joel Cooper (University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), M. Blair Marshall (Georgetown University; Washington, DC), Bryan Meyers (Washington University; St. Louis, Missouri), Stephen Cassivi (Mayo Clinic; Rochester, Minnesota), Sudhir Sundaresan (University of Ottawa; Ottawa, Canada), Shaf Keshavjee (University of Toronto; Toronto, Canada), Michael Rutter (Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Ohio), Helmut Unruh (University of Manitoba; Winnipeg, Manitoba). Interestingly, there
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