Minimally invasive thyroidectomy

Based on recent advances in ultrasonography, color-Doppler sonography and ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy, minimally invasive thyroidectomy has been widely employed for treating thyroid tumors. Minimally invasive procedures have recently been adopted for the surgical treatment of thyroid disease as a means of preventing prominent scars, hypesthesia and paresthesia.

We have developed axillary and anterior chest approaches for endoscopic thyroidectomy. The mean operating time for the endoscopic procedure was significantly longer than that for conventional open surgery. All patients who were treated using the axillary approach were satisfied with the cosmetic results. The incidence of complaints after endoscopic surgery is significantly lower than that after open surgery. The minimally invasive mini-incision approach has been performed under direct and endoscopic vision to minimize surgical invasiveness and improve cosmetic results. Our procedure differs from conventional thyroidectomy in requiring a 3-cm skin incision, and in not raising of a skin flap and not dissecting the sternohyoid muscle.

Endoscopic thyroidectomy is the procedure of choice in well selected patients with thyroid disease. The present indications for this procedure include benign follicular adenomas less than 4 cm in diameter, low-risk papillary carcinomas less than 10 mm, oxyphilic cell tumors less than 4 cm and Graves' disease as imaged on preoperative ultrasonography. The minimally invasive mini-incision approach is indicated for patients with low-risk, well differentiated carcinomas. Total thyroidectomy and bilateral modified neck dissection is possible, if the tumor is not large.