Abstract
Over the last 14 years we have thymectomized 106 myasthenic patients, 62 by transcervical and 44 by transsternal approach. At the end of the follow-up 49 patients (46,2%) had improved, 12 of these (11,2%) being in remission. Our data supply no guidance regarding the prognosis of individual patients at the time of thymectomy.
In our hands neither operation seemed to modify the natural course of myasthenia gravis.
Sommario
Nel corso degli ultimi 14 anni abbiamo sottoposto a timectomia 106 miastenici, 62 di questi per via transcervicale e 44 per via transsternale. Abbiamo ottenuto un miglioramento complessivo in 49 pazienti (46.2%); 12 di questi (11.2%) sono risultati in remissione completa. In nessuna delle sottopopolazioni di miastenici, da noi esaminate, è stato possibile evidenziare una precisa indicazione prognostica per la timectomia. Sembra di poter concludere che la timectomia, nei 2 approcci da noi utilizzati, non modifichi il decorso naturale della miastenia gravis.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Choen MS., Younger D. Aspects of natural history of myasthenia gravis: crisis and death. Ann NY Acad Sci 377:670–77, 1981
Compston DAS., Vincent A., Newsom-Davis J., Batchelor JR. Clinical, pathological HLA antigen and immunological evidence for disease heterogeneity in myasthenia gravis. Brain 103:570–601, 1980
Feltkamp Tew., van den Berg-Loonen P.M., Nijenhuis L. et al.,Myasthenia Gravis, Autoantibodies and HLA Antigens. Br Med J 1:131–3, 1974
Fritze D., Herrman C. Jr, Naeim F., Smith G.S., Walford R.L. HLA Antigens in Myasthenia Gravis. Lancet 1:240–2, 1974
Grob D., Brunner NG, Namba T. The natural course of Myasthenia Gravis and effect of therapeutic measures. Ann NY Acad Sci 377:652–69, 1981
Jaretzki A. III,Bethea M., Wolff M. et al.A rational approach to total thymectomy in the treatment of Myasthenia Gravis. Ann Thor Surg 24:120–30, 1977
Masakoa A., Monden Y. Comparison of the results of transsternal simple, transcervical simple and extended thymectomy. Ann NY Acad Sci 377:755–65, 1981
McQuillen MP., Leone MG. A treatment carol thymectomy revisited. Neurology (Minneap) 27:1103–6, 1977
Newsom-Davis J., Vincent A., Wilson SG., Ward CD. Long-term effects of repeated plasma exchange in Myasthenia Gravis. Lancet 1:464–468, 1979
Olarte MR., Schoenfeldt RS., Penn AS., Lovelace RE., Rowland LP. Effects of plasmapheresis in Myasthenia Gravis. Ann NY Acad Sci 377:725–28, 1981
Oosterhuis Hjgk Myasthenia Gravis. A survey. Clin. Neurol Neurosurg 83–3:105–35, 1981
Papatestas AE., Genkins G., Kornfeld P., Horowitz S., Kark AE. Transcervical thymectomy in Myasthenia Gravis. Surg Gyn Obstet 140:535–40, 1975
Papatestas AE., Genkins G., Horowitz S., Kornfeld P. Thymectomy in Myasthenia Gravis: pathological, clinical and electrophysiological correlations. Ann NY Acad Sci 274:555–73, 1981
Penn AS., Jaretzki A. III,Wolff M., Chang HW, Tennyson V. Thymic abnormalities: Antigen or Antibody? Response to thymectomy in Myasthenia Gravis. Ann NY Acad Sci 377:786–804, 1981
Rowland LP. Controversies about the treatment of Myasthenia Gravis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 43:644–59, 1980
Sghirlanzoni A., Peluchetti D., Mantegazza R., Fiacchino F., Cornelio F. Myasthenia Gravis: prolonged treatment with steroids. Neurology (Cleveland) 34:170–4, 1984
Sghirlanzoni A., Fiacchino F., Peluchetti D. et al.Il ruolo della timectomia nel trattamento della Miastenia Grave. Anest Rian 19:39–50, 1978
Simpson JA. Myasthenia Gravis and myasthenic syndromes. In Sir J Walton, ed. Disorders of voluntary muscles. Churchill Livingstone pp. 585–624, 1981
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sghirlanzoni, A., Mantegazza, R., Peluchetti, D. et al. Thymectomy for myasthenia gravis: a fourteen-year experience. Ital J Neuro Sci 6, 425–428 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02331034
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02331034