Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026
Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Visualization in the Treatment of Locally Advanced Thyroid Cancer
Published on: June 9, 2023
Improvement in the accuracy of reporting key prognostic and anatomic findings during thyroidectomy by using a novel
Anthony J Chambers1, Janice L Pasieka, Walley J Temple
1Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, University of Calgary and the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Background:
Documentation of thyroidectomy is performed traditionally by surgeon-dictated operative reports (DORs). A Web-based system that generates a synoptic report (WebSMR) for thyroidectomy was developed. The purpose of this study was to assess the completeness of documentation in WebSMR compared with DOR.
Methods:
In all, 271 DORs and 133 WebSMR were reviewed for the documentation of (1) prognostic information for the MACIS score calculation; (2) key anatomic structures such as recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) and parathyroid glands; and (3) nonessential information such as middle thyroid vein (MTV) ligation and sutures used for closure.
Results:
Overall DOR documented presence/absence of invasion in 27%, completeness of resection in only 3%, and tumor size in 29%, whereas these were recorded in 100% of WEBSMR (P < .001). The MACIS scores could not be calculated from any DOR, whereas WebSMRs have a MACIS calculator incorporated in the software. Although subtle differences were found in reporting anatomic structures depending on training, DORs were good at reporting the status of the RLNs (>95%) and parathyroids (>83%) compared with 100% in WebSMRs. DOR routinely included nonessential information; MTV (80%) and sutures used for closure (93% to 98%).
Conclusion:
Use of the WebSMRs was superior to DORs in documenting key prognostic and anatomic findings without nonessential information, and it produced a superior document that can aid in postoperative care.
