الفهرس 
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Abstract
PTC is usually slow growing and has a clinically indolent course. However, regional lymph node metastases are frequent, although the tumors are very small. Occult lymph node metastasis was detected in 27–90% of PTC after surgery. Early studies suggested that occult lymph node metastasis in PTC may result in increased locoregional recurrence, but it does not have a marked impact on overall survival.
Our study was a prospective study that was conducted in Ain Shams University Hospitals in Egypt, and included forty (40) patients who had confirmed thyroid carcinoma.
All patients underwent preoperative Neck ultrasound by senior radiology staff using superficial probe with a frequency ranging from 7-12 MHz to detect lymph nodes in both central and lateral neck compartments then F.N.A form thyroid nodule and palpable ultrasound negative lymph nodes was done.
This is followed by total thyroidectomy with central neck dissection +/- lateral neck dissection or completion neck dissection according to results of preoperative ultrasound and FNA.
Pathologic confirmation of thyroid cancer in LNs was made only after cytological and/or histological examination of neck specimens obtained by FNAB or surgical excision.
In our study, sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value of ultrasound in detecting central LNs were 13.3%, 90%, 25.7%, 80% respectively, and for lateral LNs were 90.9%, 85.7%, 66.7%, and 96.8% respectively.
Also the diagnostic accuracy for central and lateral compartments were 32.5% and 90% respectively.
The false-negative results of preoperative neck US noted in our study were 65% in the central neck and 7.5% in the lateral neck due to difficulty in assessing the mediastinal and central regions with US and the inability of US to detect lymph node micro metastasis.