ArticleAnnals of translational medicine2019
Who will benefit from thymectomy for myasthenia gravis? Is there any role for this procedure in elderly patients?
Article in Annals of translational medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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7 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Thymoma resection and myasthenia gravis: what is the neurological outcome in patients older than 65 years?Updates in surgery · 2025Article
- Perspectives on surgical treatment for thymic epithelial tumors: a narrative review.Gland surgery · 2024Review
- Article
- Comparison of Short-Term Post-Thymectomy Outcomes by Time-Weighted Dosages of Drug Requirements between Thymoma and Non-Thymoma Myasthenia Gravis Patients.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Perioperative outcomes and mid-term effects in performing video-assisted thoracoscopic extended thymectomy for myasthenia gravis: subxiphoid versus right thoracic approaches.Journal of thoracic disease · 2020Article
- Autoimmune Channelopathies at Neuromuscular Junction.Frontiers in neurology · 2019Review
- Thymectomy in Non-Thymomatous Myasthenia Gravis: Does An RCT Solve The 75-Year-Old Controversy?Annals of Indian Academy of NeurologyArticle
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe proportion of elderly patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) is increasing over time. Thoracoscopic extended thymectomy has been shown to achieve a superior short-term outcome to transsternal procedures. Therefore, the long-term clinical outcome should be re-examined, particularly in elderly patients.
methodsWe evaluated the long-term clinical outcomes after extended thymectomy in 30 MG patients with or without thymoma. Twenty-one (70%) patients underwent surgery by 65 years of age, and the remaining 9 (30%) underwent surgery after 65 years of age. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine the influence of various factors on the improvement in MG symptoms.
resultsThe characteristics in the elderly patients were comparable to those in the younger patients, except for the age at surgery. Symptoms of MG improved in 4 of the 9 (44%) elderly patients and in 18 of the 21 (86%) younger patients (P=0.0192). One elderly patient who underwent transsternal thymectomy died suddenly on postoperative day 3, probably due to a MG crisis: no pathological abnormalities were detected by an autopsy. A multivariate analysis identified an age at thymectomy of <65 years (P=0.0237) and a duration from the onset to thymectomy of <1 year (P=0.0405) as independent factors associated with the improvement of MG symptoms. Indeed, 4 of the 5 (80%) elderly patients who underwent thymectomy within 1 year after the onset had a favorable long-term outcome.
conclusionsThymectomy can be an option even in elderly patients, provided the operation is performed early after the onset.
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