학술논문

Changes of the tracheal respiratory mucosa after thyroidectomy
Document Type
Dissertation/ Thesis
Source
Subject
Thyroidectomy
Tracheal respiratory mucosa
Language
English
Abstract
Background : Common discomforts after thyroidectomy can have an adverse effect on the quality of life. The mechanisms of the discomforts are little understood. We investigated the changes of tracheal respiratory mucosa after thyroidectomy. Methods : Forty SD rats were divided into normal control (NC) and three surgical groups: sham, isthmectomy by cold instrument after cauterization for hemostasis (I+C+) and isthmectomy without bleeding control (I+C-). The changes of tracheal respiratory mucosa were measured by H&E stain and by immunofluorescence (IF) stain: mucosal area for mucosal edema, Muc5AC for mucin production, keratin 5 expression for airway remodeling process, glandular hypertrophy, hyperplasia and secretory ductal opening for increased airway secretion. The animals were euthanized and evaluated at one and four weeks post surgery. Results: All surgical groups showed significantly more mucosal edema than NC at both one and four weeks (p < 0.05). Mucosal edema significantly improved in the I+C+ group with time (p < 0.05). The I+C- group had significantly more mucosal edema than the I+C+ group at four weeks. At four weeks, the sham and I+C- groups showed a significantly higher number of submucosal glands than that of NC group (p < 0.05) and I+C+ group (p < 0.05). Significantly higher mucin deposit and basal cell activity at both one and four weeks were observed in all surgical groups, but mucin deposit significantly decreased at four wekks (p < 0.01). Conclusion : Our data demonstrated that thyroidectomy resulted in structural and functional changes in the mucosal area, submucosal gland hyperplasia of the tracheal mucosa, mucin deposition and basal cell activity. These findings may be associated with postoperative airway remodeling.