We make choices every day
Choose what to eat three meals a day
Choose what to wear when going out
…………
But life choices
More than just trivialities in life
At the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine
The vast majority of people face
It’s a life-or-death decision
Is the last ray of hope
The 68-year-old Uncle Qiu (pseudonym) was unfortunately found to have a huge thyroid tumor, which had already oppressed and invaded the esophagus and airway. In the Oncology Department of the First Hospital of Zhejiang University, the doctor made a plan to remove the tumor, but Mr. Qiu may not be able to speak again for the rest of his life. At the crossroads of his life, he finally chose…
001
Uncle Henan is suddenly unable to eat
It turned out to be a giant thyroid cancer
Uncle Qiu is from Henan. In order to take care of his grandson, he has been living in Guangdong with his son Xiaoqiu (pseudonym) and his family.
But since the second half of last year, Mr. Qiu, who has always been healthy, felt that he could not eat. “Actually, it’s not that the appetite is getting worse. It’s that he said that his throat is particularly sore when he swallows something, and he can only eat semi-fluid foods such as porridge and noodles.” Xiaoqiu said that his family thought it was inflammation at first, but he took anti-inflammatory for a period of time. The drug situation did not improve, and after a few months, my father was out of breath and often woken up at night, so they made their first choice: seek medical treatment.
At a local hospital in Guangzhou, an endoscopic examination revealed a huge mass in Uncle Qiu’s esophagus, which was suspected to be esophageal cancer, but a subsequent pathological biopsy revealed that he had thyroid cancer , and the mass was 5-6 cm in size, which had already oppressed and violated the esophagus and airway, making the esophagus and trachea as narrow as a “line of days”, causing him to have difficulty in swallowing and breathing.
“The doctor told me that my father’s condition is very serious, but their skills are limited, and they suggested that we go to other major hospitals for treatment.” Good luck did not come to this unfortunate family, and after a while. In many hospitals, they were told that Uncle Qiu’s tumor was not only large, but also invaded other tissues and organs. The operation was difficult, and conservative treatment was recommended.
“In my eyes, this means that my father was sentenced to ‘death penalty’, but I am not reconciled. China is so big, there must be a hospital that can treat it.” Xiao Qiubian accompanied him My father was receiving treatment in Guangzhou, and he searched for information on the treatment of thyroid cancer on the Internet platform.
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Failed to seek medical attention
A short video lights up hope
“It’s also amazing. One day I opened the short video platform and the first video was Dr. Yu Xiongfei’s popular science. I clicked in and saw that many patients had performed thyroid cancer surgery on him. I am full of praise.” Dr. Xiongfei Yu mentioned by Xiaoqiu is the deputy director of the Oncology Department of the First Hospital of Zhejiang University and has extensive experience in the field of tumor surgery. With the mentality of giving it a try, he chose to send a private chat message to Dr. Yu.
“I didn’t expect him to reply me that night, and we successfully added WeChat.” Recalling the situation at that time, Xiaoqiu was still very excited.
“The patient’s local examination is actually very comprehensive. After my evaluation, I think there is an indication for surgery.” Deputy Director Yu Xiongfei explained that the local examination results have been clear, and Uncle Qiu has is oncocytic carcinoma, a rare malignant thyroid cancer that is insensitive to treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and the only cure is surgery, although it invades The esophagus and airway pose huge challenges to the operation, but these are all local metastases, and no lung metastases, bone metastases, or systemic spread have occurred. Coupled with the unique multidisciplinary treatment model of the First Hospital of Zhejiang University, the chance of surgical cure is still quite high. big.
The doctor’s professional explanation rekindled the hope of Uncle Qiu’s family, and they immediately chose to go to Hangzhou and the First Hospital of Zhejiang University.
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Multidisciplinary surgical resection
In order to survive, he chose to…
After an outpatient consultation and re-evaluation, Uncle Qiu was admitted to the hospital. After re-evaluation by enhanced CT, MRI, PET-CT and gastroscopic bronchoscopy in the hospital, the patient was diagnosed with locally advanced thyroid cancer, which invaded the trachea, esophagus and larynx. Whenever he encounters such “big”, “difficult” and “complicated” patients, Professor Teng Lishen, Director of Oncology Surgery of the First Hospital of Zhejiang University, will personally organize a multidisciplinary consultation to formulate the optimal surgical plan.
Through oncology surgery, tumor radiotherapy and chemotherapy, otolaryngology, thoracic surgery, intensive care unit, anesthesiaDepartment of transfusion, operating room, pathology, imaging and other multi-disciplinary consultations and discussions, the doctor formulated for Uncle Qiu “extended radical resection of huge thyroid cancer, combined resection of tracheoesophagus and laryngeal organs, and gastric replacement of esophagus and pharynx” Partial Anastomosis” program.
Such a major and difficult operation needs to be performed from the abdominal cavity, thoracic cavity and neck, and it is also a big challenge for the surgical team: the doctor must first make the stomach into a “tubular stomach” in the abdomen of the patient Then, the esophagus invaded by the tumor is removed from the chest, and finally the huge tumor and the invaded trachea, esophagus and larynx are removed from the neck, and the “tubular stomach” is pulled to the neck and sutured to the oropharynx to replace the function of the esophagus. A permanent fistula was performed in the neck to maintain breathing.
“Doctors say this surgical plan will remove the father’s pharynx, vocal cords and glottis at the same time, leaving him unable to speak for the rest of his life, but for us, this is his last hope for life. “Xiaoqiu said that without surgery, his father may only have a few months to survive, but surgery can prolong his life, and may even be completely cured. Between living and living better, his father made a choice: live.
Not long ago, Professor Teng Lisong’s team and the head of Otolaryngology Department Professor Zhou Shuihong’s team joined forces, each team cooperated sincerely and successfully completed the operation, Mr. Qiu He recovered well and was discharged from the hospital 10 days after the operation. “The operation achieved R0 resection, that is, the tumor and the invading tissue, including the regional lymph nodes, were completely removed, and no tumor tissue remained in the body after the operation.” Professor Teng Lisong said, but Uncle Qiu needs to continue to receive isotopic iodine therapy, thyroidectomy and thyroidectomy after surgery. Suppressive therapy and long-term regular follow-up review.
Uncle Qiu took a group photo with Professor Teng Li before he was discharged from the hospital
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Thyroid disease is no small matter
Health advice from experts
How did Uncle Qiu’s condition develop to such a serious level, and what warning can this bring us?
It turned out that before the first visit to the doctor, Uncle Qiu had been feeling neck discomfort for a while, but he had not paid attention to it, which made this malignant tumor a possibility machine, leading to rapid progression of the disease.
“In recent years, thyroid diseases have become more and more frequent. Through this case, I also want to remind everyone that Once thyroid disease or neck discomfort is found, you must seek medical attention in time.” In the opinion of Professor Teng Lisong, even though thyroid diseases are very common nowadays, there are many treatment methods and the effects are relatively good, but there are still many types of diseases of unknown nature, so don’t take it lightly. If Uncle Qiu could go to see a doctor at the beginning of his illness, find out, and treat him in time, he might be able to avoid this major operation, and it is very possible to obtain a higher quality of life.
He further stated that a professional treatment team must be found to diagnose a thyroid disease and formulate a standardized treatment plan. Even for thyroid cancer, most thyroid cancers can be treated to a very high level. Cure rates and survival times, and even with systemic metastases, there are many treatments that can help patients to varying degrees.
Expert Outpatient Arrangement of the First Hospital of Zhejiang University
This article is original by the First Academy of Zhejiang University