Total or Hemithyroidectomy for Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma?

What is the best surgical treatment for papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC)?

Background: Surgeons have debated whether to perform a total or hemithyroidectomy for PTMC, a carcinoma less than 1 cm in size. Historically, treatment was a total thyroidectomy, but the paradigm has shifted with recent guidelines from the American and British Thyroid Associations.

Study design: Retrospective chart reviews and database analyses.

Setting: Division of Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, Los Angeles; Anacapa Surgical Associates, Ventura, Calif.