Successful Preoperative Treatment with Plasmapheresis of Patients with Hyperthyroidism

ABSTRACT

Anti-thyroid drugs are used as the first line treatment in the majority of patients with hyperthyroidism, but side effects such as severe hepatotoxicity and agranulocytosis may occur in some rare cases. For patients suffering from such severe side effects and in need of emergent surgical interventions, the removal of circulating thyroid hormones and thyroid antibodies by preoperative plasmapheresis has been reported as an effective adjunct. In this study, we report two patients, one with Graves' disease who underwent a liver transplantation, and the second with a toxic multinodular goiter and acute cholecystitis due to suspected pancreatic cancer.