BACKGROUND Complete resection of the thymus is considered appropriate for a thymoma resection because any remaining thymic tissue can lead to local recurrence. However, there are few studies concerning the extent of thymus resection. Therefore, we conducted a retrospective study to investigate whether recurrence following thymoma resection correlated to the extent of resection. METHODS Betwee...

Ninety-five patients with generalized myasthenia gravis were followed for 10 years to evaluate the long term effects of prednisolone, thymectomy, or both, and they were compared with a group only with anticholinesterase treatment. Only 15.0% of the patients with anticholinesterase alone had showed improvement 10 years after the onset, but more than 60% of those treated with prednisolone, thymec...

BACKGROUND Post-thymectomy pain in myasthenia gravis (MG) patients can inhibit breathing and coughing. Inappropriate usage of analgesics may exacerbate respiratory inhibition and even cause myasthenic crisis. Flurbiprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is commonly used to control moderate postoperative pain and is not associated with respiratory inhibition. We hypothesiz...

PURPOSE Transsternal thymectomy is well established in the treatment of myasthenia gravis (MG). The objectives of this study were to evaluate the influence and prognostic factors of thymectomy as treatment for MG. PATIENTS AND METHODS Surgical results of 54 patients with MG who underwent transsternal thymectomy were retrospectively reviewed. We investigated clinical outcomes of extended trans...

The role of thymectomy in the treatment of myasthenia gravis (MG) was analysed in 400 patients affected with generalised MG operated on between 1974-83, and prospectively followed up for five years after surgery. The occurrence of stable remission (SR) (that is, complete clinical drug-free remission that remains stable for all the subsequent follow up) was the endpoint of survival analyses and ...

Motor unit action potentials, M responses to repetitive nerve stimulation, and anticholinesterase tests were investigated in 12 myasthenic patients before and after thymectomy. In six of them the endarterial acetylcholine test was also carried out. Responsiveness to ACTH or to prednisone treatment was evaluated before and after thymectomy. The typical myasthenic presynaptic disorders were impro...