RT Book, Section
A1 Sihvo, Eero
A1 Keshavjee, Shaf
A2 Sugarbaker, David J.
A2 Bueno, Raphael
A2 Burt, Bryan M.
A2 Groth, Shawn S.
A2 Loor, Gabriel
A2 Wolf, Andrea S.
A2 Williams, Marcia
A2 Adams, Ann
SR Print(0)
ID 1170416296
T1 Transcervical Thymectomy
T2 Sugarbaker’s Adult Chest Surgery, 3e
YR 2020
FD 2020
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9781260026931
LK accesssurgery.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1170416296
RD 2024/04/23
AB Myasthenia  gravis  (MG)  is  an  autoimmune  disease  mediated  by  anti–acetylcholine  receptor  (AChr)  antibodies  directed  against  the  AChr  region  of  the  postsynaptic  membrane.  Blocking  and  accelerated  degradation  of  acetylcholine  receptors  lead  to  impaired  neuromuscular  transmission  and  muscle  weakness.1  MG  has  a  predilection  for  the  ocular  and  bulbar  muscles,  but  generalized  proximal  muscle  weakness  is  also  common.  Fatigable  weakness  is  the  hallmark  of  MG,  and  the  disorder  is  diagnosed  by  clinical  presentation,  abnormal  single-fiber  electromyography,  repetitive  nerve  stimulation  tests,  and  elevated  ACh  and/or  anti-MuSK  antibodies.  Abnormalities  of  the  thymus  gland  are  commonly  found  in  these  patients.  Of  MG  patients,  10%  to  15%  have  thymoma.  Lymphoid  thymic  hyperplasia  is  present  in  about  70%.2  Significant  data  support  an  immunopathologic  role  of  the  thymus  in  the  development  of  autoimmune  MG.3