J Endocr Surg.  2021 Mar;21(1):20-26. 10.16956/jes.2021.21.1.20.

Surgical Outcomes of a Single Surgeon's 100 Transoral Robotic Thyroidectomies

• Kim WW
• Lee J
• Jung JH
• Park HY

• KMID: 2525950
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.16956/jes.2021.21.1.20

Abstract

Purpose
s: We report a single surgeon's experiences and surgical outcomes of 100 recent transoral robotic thyroidectomy (TORT) cases.
Methods
A sample of 100 patients who underwent TORT from December 2019 to December 2020, were included and analyzed in this study. All patients were diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Eighty-five patients underwent a 3-ports TORT without axillary incision. Central lymph node dissections were performed in all cases diagnosed with PTC.
Results
The mean operative time was 122.4±33.8 minutes. The number of retrieved lymph nodes was 4.5±3.3 and the serum thyroglobulin off thyroid hormone in total thyroidectomy was 0.1 ng/mL in one patient. Postoperative complications including transient hypocalcemia (n=1, 9.1%) in 11 cases of total thyroidectomy and transient recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (n=1, 1.0%) were rarely observed. Focal transient numbness in lip area was observed only in six patients without severe mental nerve palsy and all patients recovered fully after surgery.
Conclusion
Transoral robotic thyroidectomy is an effective and safe treatment option for patients who do not want to have visible scars on their neck area post-thyroidectomy.

Keyword

Outcome; Robot; Thyroidectomy; Transoral