Subjective Voice Outcomes in Surgeon Versus Technician-Monitored Recurrent Laryngeal Nerves in Thyroidectomy

To compare subjective voice outcomes and postoperative laryngoscopic examination findings of patients with subjective voice complaints between surgeon-monitored and certified technician-monitored thyroidectomies.

Patients who underwent hemithyroidectomy, total thyroidectomy, and completion thyroidectomy using a nerve monitoring system between November 2015 and June 2018 were included in the study. Retrospective chart review was carried out to assess how often patients reported voice changes and to record postoperative flexible laryngoscopic findings of patients when that examination was performed. Data were analyzed using the χ² test to identify significant differences in outcomes for the 2 groups.

A total of 293 procedures was performed among 3 surgeons. Surgeons monitored the nerves in 147 cases and a certified technician monitored the nerves in 146 cases. Subjective voice changes were identified in 11 (7.48%) cases in the surgeon-monitored group and in 20 (13.70%) cases in the technician-monitored group (P = .084). Among the patients who expressed subjective voice changes, 7 patients were identified with vocal cord hypomobility or immobility in the surgeon-monitored group and 13 patients had an abnormal examination in the technician-monitored group (P = .234).

Subjective voice changes or proven vocal cord mobility problems were not different between surgeon-monitored patients and technician-monitored patients in thyroidectomies.