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Updated: Aug 15, 2026
Intra-Operative Neural Monitoring of Thyroid Surgery in a Porcine Model
Published on: February 11, 2019
[Intraoperative electromyographic identification of the recurrent laryngeal nerve]
Background:
Recurrent nerve palsy is the most important complication of thyroid surgery. Correct identification of the nerve during the surgical procedure is essential to avoid damage.
Method:
We evaluated the intraoperative electromyographic identification procedure of the recurrent laryngeal nerves in 77 consecutive patients. The operations performed were 63 subtotal resections, 6 hemithyroidectomies, 4 hemithyroidectomies in combination with subtotal resection of the opposite side and 4 thyroidectomies.
Results:
Identification of the recurrent laryngeal nerve by electrophysiologic nerve stimulation was successful in 97.4%. Recurrent nerve palsy was not seen in postoperative laryngoscopic control.
Conclusions:
Intraoperative electromyography improves the identification rate of the recurrent laryngeal nerve and allows electrophysiologic verification of nerve function as a result of injury to the thyroid.
