[Video-assisted parathyroidectomy in the management of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism]

Trans oral endoscopic thyroidectomy (TOETVA): First French experience in 90 patients

OBJECTIVE

Thyroidectomy techniques using extracervical approaches have grown in popularity for about 20 years and their feasibility has now been demonstrated. We wanted to evaluate one of these new approaches: the anterior vestibular endoscopic approach (TOETVA). The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of an initial series patients who underwent an anterior trans-vestibular endoscopic oral thyroidectomy.

METHODS

From February 2018 to September 2020, this technique was offered to patients aged 18 to 70, ASA I or II, who presented with an indication for thyroid surgery and who wished to avoid cervical scars. The approach was through the anterior vestibule of the mouth and the specimen was extracted either transorally or via the axilla depending on its size. Apart from the first ten cases, all patients underwent recurrent nerve neuromonitoring. The patients were operated on by two surgeons experienced in thyroid surgery. All the patients had follow-up visits on D15, D30 and at 2 months. The pre- and intra-operative data, length of stay and complications were evaluated.

RESULTS

A total of 90 consecutive patients (87 women) aged 46±12.4 years (18 to 69) with a mean BMI of 24.4±4 were included. The indications for surgery included 11 papillary cancers, 5 oncocytic nodules, 15 toxic nodules, 13 cases of Graves disease and 46 symptomatic goiters and/or nodules. The mean pre-operative diameter of the nodules was 3.61±1.99 (0.44 to 7.3) cm. The interventions performed were 44 lobo-isthmectomies, 41 total thyroidectomies and 5 isthmectomies. The mean operating time was 134±45min (40 to 255). On D1, the post-operative ionized calcium was 1.09±0.11mmol/L (4.3685±0.44mg/dL) (normal 0.8-1.15mmol/L) (3.206-4.609mg/dL)) and the total serum calcium was 2.07±0.11mmol/L 8.296±0.44mg/dL (normal 2.2-2.5mmol/L) (8.817-10.019mg/dL). Five patients underwent conversion from endoscopic to open cervical approach (5.5%). The complications were seven cases of transient recurrent nerve palsy (7.8%), eight cases of hypoparathyroidism (19%) including six transient and two permanent, one skin burn and 26 cases of transient chin numbness related to the electrocautery (29%). Ten patients (11%) presented with transient post-operative skin ecchymosis that resolved within 7-10 days. A spontaneous pneumo-mediastinum was observed on chest CT in three patients and evolved favorably. No hematoma, or surgical site infection, or complications related to axillary extraction were observed. All the patients declared themselves satisfied post-operatively and at the end of the follow-up.

CONCLUSION

The TOETVA route of entry is a safe and reliable technique in well-selected patients wishing to avoid a cervical scar.

Endoscopic neck surgery

Endoscopic surgery in the neck was attempted in 1996 for performing parathyroidectomy. A similar surgical technique was used for performing thyroidectomy the following year. Most commonly reported endoscopic neck surgery studies in literature have been on thyroid and parathyroid glands. The approaches are divided into two types i.e., the total endoscopic approach using CO(2) insufflation and the video-assisted approach without CO(2) insufflation. The latter approach has been reported more often. The surgical access (port placements) may vary-the common sites are the neck, anterior chest wall, axilla, and periareolar region. The limiting factors are the size of the gland and malignancy. Few reports are available on endoscopic resection for early thyroid malignancy and cervical lymph node dissection. Endoscopic neck surgery has primarily evolved due to its cosmetic benefits and it has proved to be safe and feasible in suitable patients with thyroid and parathyroid pathologies. Application of this technique for approaching other cervical organs such as the submandibular gland and carotid artery are still in the early experimental phase.

[Lateral endoscopic approach for thyroid and parathyroid surgery]

The endoscopic lateral approach in thyroid and parathyroid surgery is achieved by developing the plane between the carotid sheath laterally and the strap muscles medially. This approach allows direct access to the posterior aspect of the thyroid lobe, without the need for the dissection of the strap muscles and without the need for medial retraction of the thyroid during the procedure. The lateral approach aided by endoscopic magnification provides the surgeon with the ideal view with which to safely dissect the vital structures found in the retro-thyroid space such as the inferior thyroid artery, the recurrent laryngeal nerve and the parathyroid glands. This approach was initially adopted in primary hyperparathyroidism caused by a single adenoma that had been localized preoperatively. It is now also offered to patients with an isolated thyroid nodule smaller than 25 mm in diameter requiring surgical excision. Experience with 408 parathyroidectomies and the preliminary results of 38 thyroid lobectomies allows the authors to recommend this technique to appropriately selected patients.

Endoscopic parathyroid surgery: results of 365 consecutive procedures

In recent years, several series have documented the feasibility of endoscopic approaches for parathyroid diseases. We performed a retrospective study to evaluate the results of endoscopic parathyroidectomy (EP) in the management of our patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). During a 5.5 year period (1998-2003), we operated on 644 patients with PHPT. EP was proposed for patients with sporadic PHPT, without associated goiter, and without previous neck surgery in whom a single adenoma was localized by means of sonography and sestamibi scanning. EP was performed by the lateral approach with insufflation for patients with an adenoma located deep in the neck and by a gasless midline approach for patients whose adenoma was located anteriorly. A quick parathyroid (QPTH) assay was used during the surgical procedures. Among 644 patients with PHPT, 279 (43.3%) were not eligible for EP for the following reasons: associated nodular goiter (116 cases), previous neck surgery (52 cases), suspicion of multiglandular disease (31 cases), lack of preoperative localization (61 cases), and miscellaneous causes (19 cases). EP was performed in 365 patients with sporadic PHPT: 339 lateral access, 25 midline access, and one thoracoscopy. The median operating time was 49 minutes (16-130 minutes). Conversion to conventional parathyroidectomy was required in 49 patients (13.4%) for these reasons: missed adenomas (14 cases), difficulty with the dissection (8 cases), multiglandular disease correctly predicted by QPTH (11 cases), false-negative QPTH assay results (4 cases), false-positive sestamibi scan results (11 cases), and 1 false-positive sonography result. One patient presented with definitive recurrent nerve palsy. Three patients remained hypercalcemic, and one other patient had recurrent hypercalcemia. In conclusion, EP can be proposed for more than half of the patients with PHPT. Immediate results of EP are similar to those obtained with conventional parathyroidectomy, but no conclusions can be drawn in terms of the influence of EP on the outcome of the patients operated on for PHPT.

Minimal-access/minimally invasive parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism

Minimal-access or minimally invasive parathyroidectomy is replacing a bilateral neck exploration as the surgical approach of choice in primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). When a parathyroid adenoma is localized preoperatively, ideally with sestamibi combined with ultrasonography, results equivalent to a bilateral neck exploration can be achieved through an incision less than 2.5 cm. Minimal-access techniques offer the advantage of cure under local anesthesia with a smaller incision and no overnight stay. Intraoperative measurement of parathyroid hormone (PTH) may be a valuable adjunct to confirmation of parathyroid adenoma removal, but currently appears to add little when preoperative localization is optimized. Controlled studies and long-term follow-up will be required to establish the true value of parathyroid minimal-access surgery.