Evaluation of the efficacy of treatment with exogenous thyroxin in patients after thyroidectomy

: The study was performed in 228 patients after thyroidectomy, including 101 individuals permanently treated with thyroxin and 127 ones in whom treatment with thyroxin was started on the average 5 years after surgery. Control group consisted of 35 patients after thyroidectomy, average 2 years after surgery, not treated with thyroxin. Stump volumes and serum TSH concentrations were significantly higher in the patients who began treatment a long time after surgery (mean after 5 years) when compared with the control group (mean after 2 years). It was proven that treatment with thyroxin led to significant decrease of the stump volume and to serum TSH normalisation. Treatment with thyroxin was successive in not all patients with nodular regrowth; in some of them despite using suppressive doses of thyroxin, progression of the lesions occurred, what claimed for different regrowth etiology. In spite of high serum TSH concentrations in 132 patients, only in 60 of them clinical manifestation of hyperthyroidism was observed. Treatment with thyroxin should be recognised as reasonable in prophylaxis and therapy of patients after thyroidectomy.