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Updated: Jun 3, 2026
Gasless Endoscopic Thyroidectomy via the Trans-Axillary Approach
Published on: September 15, 2023
Single-port access transaxillary totally endoscopic thyroidectomy: a new approach for minimally invasive thyroid
Ying Fan1, Shuo-Dong Wu, Jing Kong
1Department of the Second General Surgery, Sheng Jing Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, People's Republic of China.
Purpose:
Various techniques for minimally invasive thyroid surgery have been described over the last decade. As interest in single-port access laparoscopic surgery (SPA™) continues to grow, the authors present their technique and short-term outcomes for single-port access transaxillary totally endoscopic thyroidectomy in the management of benign thyroid tumors in a series of 4 patients.
Patients And Methods:
Four consecutive patients from a prospectively maintained endoscopic thyroidectomy database were analyzed under an institutional review board-approved protocol. Clinical characteristics and short-term outcomes were reviewed.
Results:
All the patients were young women with no prior neck surgery. A single-port totally endoscopic thyroidectomy was performed for thyroid adenoma in 2 cases and for nodular goiter in 2 cases. Retraction, exposure, and extraction were possible in all cases. The average operating room time was 92.5 minutes. Postoperative pain scores on postoperative day 1 were all 1/10. No patient experienced complications. The median hospital stay was 1.75 days. The mean specimen size was 2.7 cm × 2.375 cm × 2.625 cm. The patients were uniformly pleased with the cosmetic results of the operation.
Conclusions:
Single-port access transaxillary totally endoscopic partial thyroidectomy appears to be safe and feasible. This technique may provide both an attractive way to reduce injury to the anterior neck tissue and a method for ideal cosmetic effect.
