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Identification and Protection of the Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve during Transoral Robotic Thyroidectomy
Published on: October 24, 2025
Technical and oncologic safety of robotic thyroid surgery
Onvox Yi1, Jong Ho Yoon, Yu-Mi Lee
1Department of Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Annals of Surgical Oncology
|January 12, 2013
Summary
Robot-assisted thyroid surgery offers a safe alternative to open procedures for papillary thyroid carcinoma. Outcomes and complication rates are comparable, demonstrating its feasibility for thyroid resection and lymph node dissection.
Area of Science:
- Surgical Oncology
- Endocrine Surgery
- Minimally Invasive Surgery
Background:
- Evaluating surgical outcomes of double-incision robot-assisted gasless transaxillary thyroidectomy versus conventional open thyroid surgery.
- Assessing the safety and efficacy of robotic approaches in thyroid cancer treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the surgical outcomes between robot-assisted and open thyroidectomy.
- To evaluate complication rates and tumor marker levels post-thyroidectomy.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 521 female patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) undergoing total thyroidectomy with central compartment node dissection (CCND).
- Comparison of 98 patients in the robotic group versus 423 in the open group.
- Assessment of clinicopathologic characteristics, complications, and stimulated thyroglobulin (sTg) levels.
Main Results:
- Similar perioperative complication rates between robotic and open groups, with transient hypoparathyroidism noted in the robotic group.
- Comparable median ablation sTg levels (0.39 vs 0.50 ng/mL) and proportion of patients with sTg <10 ng/mL (94.5% vs 98.0%).
- No significant difference in control sTg levels <1 ng/mL between groups (91.3% vs 95.6%).
Conclusions:
- Double-incision robot-assisted gasless transaxillary thyroidectomy is technically safe.
- This robotic approach offers a feasible option for complete thyroid resection and adequate lymph node dissection in PTC patients.
