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Updated: Jan 3, 2026
Gasless Endoscopic Thyroidectomy via the Trans-Axillary Approach
Published on: September 15, 2023
Video-assisted neck surgery (VANS) using a gasless lifting procedure for thyroid and parathyroid diseases: "The VANS
Kazuo Shimizu1,2, Kazuhide Shimizu3, Ritsuko Okamura4
1Department of Endocrine Surgery, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8603, Japan. kshimizu@nms.ac.jp.
Purpose:
To describe and evaluate our video-assisted neck surgery (VANS) method for thyroid and parathyroid diseases.
Methods:
We describe in detail the VANS method for enucleation, lobectomy, total (nearly total) thyroidectomy, and lymph node dissection for malignancy and Graves' disease. In collaboration with the Japan Society of Endoscopic Surgery (JSES), we evaluated several aspects of this method. The JSES evaluated the method for working-space formation and surgical complications, whereas we examined the learning curve of the surgeons, and the cosmetic satisfaction of the patients and the degree of numbness and pain they experienced. We also asked patients who underwent conventional surgery whether they would have selected VANS had it been available.
Results:
The working space for 81.5% of the procedures in Japan was created using the gasless lifting method. The learning curve, considering both blood loss and operating time, decreased after 30 cases. Both factors improved for tumors smaller than 5 cm in diameter. Over 60% of the patients who underwent conventional surgery stated that they would have selected VANS, had it been available. Postoperative pain was worse after conventional surgery than after VANS, but neck numbness after VANS was more frequent than expected.
Conclusions:
The VANS method is a feasible, safe, and cost-effective procedure with clear cosmetic advantages over conventional surgery.
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