Long Term Survival in a Patient with Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma Treated with Cricotracheal Resection

Abstract

Anaplastic thyroid cancer is an uncommon malignancy with a poor prognosis. Elderly patients are most commonly afflicted and survival past 3 years occurs in less than 5% of patients. Management of these patients is challenging, and the importance of palliation, airway protection, and aggressive resection is debated. In this report, we describe a patient with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma who presented with respiratory distress due to invasion of the tracheal cartilage. The patient was managed with cricotracheal resection, total thyroidectomy and thyrotracheal anastomosis. The patient is currently disease free 3.5 years after resection and postoperative radiation therapy with interval neck dissection.