Sinus Bradycardia after Extensive Neck Dissection and Total Thyroidectomy in a Pediatric Patient: A Case Report

• Main Authors: Antonia Malli, Ioannis Skondras, Maria Vakaki, Alexander Passalides
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc. 2020-10-01
• Series: The Surgery Journal
• Subjects: papillary thyroid carcinoma; neck dissection; sinus bradycardia; postoperative
• Online Access: http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0040-1721429

Postoperative complications after total thyroidectomy with extensive neck dissection in thyroid malignancies are well documented in the current literature. However, sinus bradycardia as a postthyroidectomy complication is a rare phenomenon and, to the best of our knowledge, few studies have identified it as a perioperative condition. In our study, we report a case of 9-year-old boy with papillary thyroid carcinoma, who underwent total thyroidectomy and bilateral neck dissection. Postoperatively, the surgery was complicated by initial vocal cord paresis and chyle leak. The patient also suffered from asymptomatic sinus bradycardia which self-resolved. Although causative factors cannot be determined by a single case, hypothyroidism, carotid sinus hypersensitivity, and bilateral damage to the middle cervical sympathetic ganglion could play a significant role in this uncommon pathophysiological condition.