Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026
Transoral Robotic Total Thyroidectomy and Bilateral Central Regional Lymph Node Dissection for Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma
Published on: September 15, 2023
Safety of robotic thyroidectomy approaches: meta-analysis and systematic review
Nicole R Jackson1, Lu Yao, Ralph P Tufano
1Department of Surgery, Division of Endocrine and Oncological Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana; Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Background:
This study compared the efficacy of robotic thyroidectomy via a gasless, axillary approach with conventional cervical and endoscopic techniques by meta-analysis.
Methods:
Articles were identified from the following keyword searches: robotic/robot-assisted thyroidectomy/thyroid surgery. Outcomes included operative time, hospital stay, complications, and cosmetic satisfaction after surgery. Between-group outcome differences were calculated using random-effects models.
Results:
In all, 87 publications were identified and 9 studies met inclusion criteria, totaling 2881 patients, 1122 of whom underwent robotic thyroidectomy. Those who underwent robotic surgery reported greater cosmetic satisfaction, with a pooled net mean difference of -1.35 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -1.69, -1.09). Robotic approach operative time was longer than that of the conventional approach (95% CI: 29.23, 54.87), with a trend to be shorter than the endoscopic approaches. Robotic surgery had similar risks to open and endoscopic approaches.
Conclusions:
Our meta-analysis suggests that robotic thyroidectomy is as safe, feasible, and efficacious as conventional cervical and endoscopic thyroidectomy, showing superior cosmetic satisfaction than that of conventional thyroidectomy.
