Limited thymectomy as a potential alternative treatment option for early-stage thymoma: A multi-institutional propensity-matched study

•We performed multi-institutional study to evaluate limited thymectomy on thymoma.•Limited thymectomy was not inferior to complete thymectomy with respect to recurrence.•Limited thymectomy had better perioperative outcome.•Limited thymectomy may be a viable treatment option for early-stage thymoma.