Philosophy on Neck Dissection in Thyroid Cancer-Current Controversies and Consensus.

Thyroid cancer commonly metastasizes to lymph nodes either in the central compartment or lateral neck in at least 50% of patients. Over the past several decades, our understanding of the natural progression of thyroid cancer has changed. Our current practice reflects our increasingly sophisticated understanding of the biology of thyroid cancer while taking into account the morbidity and mortality associated with aggressive variants of the disease.