TITLE:
The Pyramidal Lobe of the Thyroid
AUTHORS:
Gregorio Patrizi, Giorgio Di Rocco, Domenico Giannotti, Maria Giulia Bernieri, Felice Sperandeo, Rina Orkabi, Paolo Onori, Eugenio Gaudio, Adriano Redler
KEYWORDS:
Thyroid, Pyramidal Lobe, Thyroidectomy, Surgical Anatomy, Thyroid Anatomy, Thyroid Surgery, Neck Anatomy, Neck Surgery
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.6 No.18,
October
30,
2014
ABSTRACT: Anatomy of the thyroid has been extensively studied but the presence of pyramidal lobe varies in percentages from 15% to 75% of cases according to different authors. We therefore investigated systematically this peculiar anatomical aspect. From January 2001 to December 2011, 1002 patients underwent total thyroidectomy in our Division of General Surgery. We analyzed the data collected on the latest 200 thyroidectomies: for all patients pyramidal lobe was measured at removal of the specimen then dimension of the pyramidal lobe after fixation was checked. We found the pyramidal lobe in all cases. In most cases, it was approximately 2 cm (range 1 - 8 cm on fresh specimen). At histology it was described in 72% of cases, after fixation size decreased by a third approximatively. This is the first systematic intraoperative study to verify the prevalence of the thyroid pyramidal lobe. In our experience, the pyramidal lobe is always present and the thyroglossal duct is identifiable.