Against Thymectomies

No.	Name	I'm Against Thymectomy, Because:
1.	Lisa W.	I am against a thymectomy when the thymus gland is totally normal and there is no disease attached.If there is MG to the degree where medications do not help and the condition is deteriorating, I think it is the choice of the person and his/her doctor to decide whether a thymectomy is beneficial or not. It is noone's business what is decided on the matter. For the case of tumors, overgrowth, thymomas and etc, there is no question that surgery is in order.
2.	Rona K.	I am not sure whether or not the surgery is beneficial. Since my neuro and surgeon were pretty sure that I had a thymoma, the choice of surgery wasn't a question. If there isn't a thymoma, I don't know if I would have had the thymectomy because I was feeling so well. Since the MG relationship to the thymus is only a hypothesis, one cannot be sure that the thymectomy will definitely be helpful. It is only specualtive at best. There haven't been any blind studies done. When you ask you neuro about the about the benefits of thymectomies, I think that what you will get is anecdotal and not "scientific." I find this funny because if you talk about "special diet" with doctors, they will ask about where is the scientific proof. My main point is that each choice for a thymectomy is that it is individual and what is on your plate. I was very against thymectomies and as I said before, if I didn't have a thymoma I would not have had one.
3.	Gireesh M.	I believe that surgery should be resorted to only when there is no other 'cure'. Therefore, thymectomy - only if other medication does not help.
4.	Terry R.	I am against it unless there is more proof, a lot of trauma to deal with. They must be a thymona and a surgeon that knows what he/she is doing. I don't know how my thymus was, generally the thymectomy is not a viable choice for Ocular patients. Recent studies support this. Plus my age..
5.	Dave S.	I'm against it.( no proof of its benefit against the risks of risky surgery). I am for the surgery, if there is something wrong, with the gland.
6.	Tina	I think that we should not make general decissions about the worth of thymectomies. I think that each case should be treated on it's own merit. The severity, age at onset, length of time since appearance of symptoms all should play into it. I don't think thymectomy should be just routinely performed for all those diagnosed with mg
7.	Sue E.	I don't think it's the right decision for me, and I think anyone considering it should carefully weigh all the pros and cons, but I have never said that nobody should have a thymectomy.
8.	Woody	Thymectomies, along with prednisone are two of my pet peeves in the treatment of MG. I think both are irrational and one day will be discontinued. ACHR antibodies. Taking out the thymus is equivalent to "shooting the messenger" instead of addressing the message. Thymectomies remind me of the "accepted practice", when I was a child, of performing tonsillectomies, because the tonsils would often become swollen. Then, they realized the tonsils were doing what they are supposed to do, in helping our bodies fight infections. Tonsillectomies are now rarely performed. I have met too many people in these support groups who years after their thymectomies, still produce the ACHR antibodies and still have to take Prednisone, Imuran, Mestinon, etc. to control their MG. Many have had severe relapses, years after their thymectomies I understand, that for the first time, a double blind, statistically designed study is being planned to compare the advantages of Thymectomies, if any, to immunosupessant techniques for treating MG
9.	MayaMa	I would have a thymectomy ONLY if there was something obviously wrong with my thyroid gland - and only then after getting a second, and probably a third, opinion. I would NOT have a thymectomy as a preventative measure or as a 'maybe this will help' measure because the thymus gland is the master gland of immunity, and removing this gland severely weakens the body's ability to fight infections and cancer. I also have a terrible problem with scar tissue... which continues to plague me from past, unavoidable surgeries.