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Published on: November 28, 2025
[Endoscopic thyroidectomy through anterior chest and breast approach for papillary thyroid microcarcinoma]
Ping Wang1, Zhi-yu Li, Shao-ming Xu
1Department of General Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, China. wangping_zjdx@zj.com
Objective:
To evaluate the operative feasibility and safety of endoscopic thyroidectomy through anterior chest and breast approach for the treatment of the patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC).
Methods:
Endoscopic thyroidectomy was attempted in 164 patients with thyroid diseases. For 28 cases, which were diagnosed as PTMC by frozen section intraoperatively, lobotomy plus central compartment dissection and contralateral subtotal lobotomy was achieved completely by endoscopic thyroidectomy. There were 27 females and 1 male, and their average age was 35.2 years old. Twelve and sixteen cases were diagnosed preoperatively as thyroid microcarcinomas and benign tumors, respectively.
Results:
The operation time of the 28 cases was (115 +/- 43) min. The maximum diameter of PTMC was 0.2 to 1.0 cm with a mean of 0.56 cm. 17.9% (5/28) of the PTMC patients had transient vocal cord palsy and restored after 1 to 2 months postoperatively. There were no complications such as subcutaneous emphysema and postoperative bleeding and postoperative hypocalcaemia. 46.4% (13/28) had node involvement of the central compartment. Postoperative ultrasonography and scintigraphy showed no evidence of recurrence or residual thyroid tissue in the thyroid bed where lobotomy was performed.
Conclusions:
The endoscopic thyroidectomy through anterior chest and breast approach is a choice of the surgical treatment for selected cases of PTMC.
