Gasless video-assisted bilateral thyroidectomy by the anterior chest wall approach: 4 years of experience

Thyroidectomy can be performed in a variety of ways, and gasless video-assisted approaches have recently become more popular. We performed a study of thyroidectomy on 77 patients with bilateral thyroid lesions carried out using a gasless video-assisted unilateral anterior chest wall approach. Seventy-seven patients underwent bilateral thyroidectomy by the gasless video-assisted unilateral anterior chest wall approach, whereas 64 patients underwent conventional surgery during the same time frame and were considered to be the control group. The eligibility criteria for thyroid surgery by gasless video-assisted unilateral anterior chest wall approach were: no previous neck surgical history, no radiotherapy history, a diagnosis of benign thyroid tumor according to preoperative computed tomographic scan, no inflammation-related diseases or thyroid hyperfunction, no lymphadenectasis, and bilateral tumors ≤ 4 cm in diameter (1 side ≤ 2 cm, located in the lower part of the thyroid and near the surface of the thyroid). The 2 groups were compared by surgical style, complications, operative time, cosmetic result, and postoperative pain. The 2 groups were matched in terms of age and sex; the scoring for operative procedure (P=0.443), postoperative drainage (P=0.686), and postoperative pain (P=0.294) were not significantly different. The gasless video-assisted group had less bleeding during surgery than the conventional group and had better cosmetic results (P<0.001), but also had longer surgical durations (P=0.003) and higher costs of hospitalization (P<0.001). Neither group had any permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis or hypocalcemia, nor were there recurrences duration followed up for 21 ± 10 months. The gasless video-assisted group had 1 case of ecchymoma and 1 case of temporary recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis, but both recovered within a month. The complication rates in the 2 groups were not significantly different (χ=1.423, P=0.292). The gasless video-assisted thyroidectomy by the unilateral anterior chest wall approach is a safe and feasible way to treat patients with benign bilateral thyroid lesion with good cosmetic results. The gasless video-assisted thyroidectomy is a valid surgical option for selected patients and that its application will grow in the future.