Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 18, 2026
Transoral Robotic Total Thyroidectomy and Bilateral Central Regional Lymph Node Dissection for Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma
Published on: September 15, 2023
Surgical outcomes of robotic thyroidectomy vs. conventional open thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma
Jeong Nam Cho1,2, Won Seo Park3,4, Sun Young Min5,2
1Department of Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Background:
The purpose of this study was to compare the surgical outcomes of robotic thyroidectomy (RT) using bilateral axillo-breast approach (BABA) with conventional open thyroidectomy (OT) in papillary thyroid carcinoma patients.
Methods:
Between January 2009 and December 2013, 815 patients who had received thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma were enrolled. Of these, 126 patients received RT and 689 patients underwent OT. Age, gender, body mass index, extent of surgery, tumor size, multiplicity, bilaterality, extrathyroidal extension, and tumor stage were used for the propensity score matching analysis. One hundred and nine patients were selected in each group, and surgical outcomes were compared between the two groups.
Results:
The RT group showed a significantly longer operating time (290.6 ± 74.4 vs. 107.9 ± 30.8 min, P < 0.001). However, the mean hospital stay after surgery (3.6 ± 0.8 vs. 3.4 ± 1.2 days, P = 0.293), postoperative complication rates (major and minor, P = 0.754 and P = 0.852), and pain score (postoperative day, P = 0.669; postoperative day 1, P = 0.952) were comparable between the two groups. There was no difference in the number of metastatic lymph nodes, but the mean number of retrieved lymph nodes in the RT group was lesser than that in the OT group (3.5 ± 3.5 vs. 5.3 ± 5.2, P = 0.002).
Conclusions:
Robotic thyroidectomy via the BABA may be a safe and acceptable surgical technique. But, further development that resolves the limitation of central node dissection is needed.
