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Updated: Aug 23, 2025
Transoral Robotic Total Thyroidectomy and Bilateral Central Regional Lymph Node Dissection for Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma
Published on: September 15, 2023
Feasibility of transoral robotic selective neck dissection with or without a postauricular incision for papillary
Kyung Tae1, Hae Won Choi1, Yong Bae Ji1
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea.
Background:
The study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of transoral robotic selective neck dissection (SND) with or without a postauricular incision for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).
Methods:
We studied 14 patients with PTC who underwent robotic SND via the transoral or combined transoral and postauricular approaches.
Results:
The transoral approach was performed on 10 patients for dissection of levels III and IV. An additional postauricular incision was made on 4 patients for dissection of level II in addition to levels III, IV, and V. The operation was completed successfully in 13 patients, except 1 patient with the procedure conversion due to uncontrolled bleeding from the internal jugular vein. The mean numbers of removed lymph nodes in the lateral compartment were 23.1 ± 9.4 and 38.3 ± 8.5 in the transoral and combined groups. Transient recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy occurred in 1 patient, transient hypoparathyroidism in 3 patients, and chyle leakage in 1 patient. There were no hematomas, mental nerve injuries, surgical space infections, or CO2 embolisms.
Conclusion:
Transoral robotic SND is feasible with or without a postauricular incision.
