Transoral Robotic Thyroidectomy: The Overview and Suggestions for Future Research in New Minimally Invasive Thyroid Surgery

Surgical outcomes of robotic thyroidectomy for thyroid tumors over 4 cm via the bilateral axillo-breast approach

The study investigated the feasibility of robotic bilateral axillo-breast approach (BABA) thyroidectomy for patients with thyroid tumors larger than 4 cm. BABA thyroidectomy has previously shown safety and effectiveness for thyroid surgeries but lacked extensive data on its application to larger tumors. Between October 2008 and August 2022, there were 74 patients underwent robotic BABA thyroidectomy due to thyroid nodules exceeding 4 cm in size. The mean patient age was 40.3 years. Fine needle aspiration results classified the tumors as benign (50.0%), atypia of undetermined significance (27.0%), follicular neoplasm (16.2%), suspicious for malignancy/malignancy (5.4%), or lymphoma (1.4%). The average tumor size was 4.9 cm, with the majority (85.1%) undergoing thyroid lobectomy, and the rest (14.9%) receiving total thyroidectomy. The mean total operation time was 178.4 min for lobectomy and 207.3 min for total thyroidectomy. Transient vocal cord palsy (VCP) was found in 3 patients (4.1%), and there was no permanent VCP. Among patients who underwent total thyroidectomy, transient hypoparathyroidism was observed in three (27.2%), and permanent hypoparathyroidism was observed in one (9.1%). There were no cases of open conversion, tumor spillage, bleeding, flap injury, or tumor recurrence. In conclusion, robotic BABA thyroidectomy may be a safe treatment option for large-sized thyroid tumors that carries no significant increase in complication rates.

TSH receptor antibody as a predictor of difficult robotic thyroidectomy in patients with Graves' disease

Thyroidectomy in Graves' disease can be challenging due to greater thyroid size and vascularity. While thyroid stimulating hormone receptor antibody (TRAb) level is associated with disease severity and thyroid vascularity, its impact on operative outcomes remains unclear. This study aimed to compare challenging factors for robotic thyroidectomy (RT) and open thyroidectomy (OT) in Graves' disease patients, including TRAb as a predictive factor for difficult thyroidectomy. This retrospective study included Graves' disease patients who underwent total thyroidectomy between September 2013 and January 2023. The clinical characteristics and operative outcomes were compared between patients who received OT and bilateral axillo-breast approach RT. Factors affecting operation time and estimated blood loss (EBL) were evaluated in both groups using regression analyses. A total of 85 patients received either OT (n = 48) or RT (n = 37). Median thyroid volumes in the OT and RT groups were 72.4 g and 57.6 g, respectively. Operation time was affected by thyroid volume in both groups. Additionally, higher thyroid hormone levels and bilateral central neck node dissection prolonged operation time in the RT group. EBL was marginally associated with thyroid volume in the OT group. However, in the RT group, TRAb level was independently associated with greater EBL (p = 0.04), while no significant association was found with thyroid volume. Predictive factors for difficult thyroidectomy differed by operation approaches. TRAb significantly predicted intraoperative bleeding in RT, while this association was absent in OT. Caution is warranted when performing RT on Graves' disease patients with high TRAb levels.

Preliminary report on a novel technique for endoscopic transaxillary thyroidectomy: a case-control study

BACKGROUND

Endoscopic transaxillary approaches to thyroidectomy have been well described and gasless transaxillary endoscopic thyroidectomy (GTET) is the most popular method. However, this require a single long axillary incision which is longer than most remote access thyroidectomy procedures. The authors improved the GTET and provided a novel way to access the thyroid. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of our novel transaxillary thyroidectomy procedure and to attempt to reduce the size of the scar and reduce the flap creation area.

METHODS

One hundred sixteen patients who underwent our novel transaxillary thyroidectomy procedure were compared with the patients who underwent open and GTET procedures. The patients' demographics, outcomes, and complications were analyzed.

RESULTS

Although the operation time (121.48±23.91 mins) was longer in the novel endoscopic group compare to the open group, it was shorter than GTET group. Intraoperative blood loss was similar between the groups. However, the novel procedure group had more drainage volume within 48 postoperative hours compare to other two groups. Despite the VAS pain score did not reveal a difference between the open and novel endoscopic procedure, it was lower in the novel procedure than GTET. The hospital stay days did not show a difference between the two groups. The number of resected central lymph nodes was similar between the groups. Differences did not reveal between the groups regarding to the complications rate.

CONCLUSION

Our results showed that our novel transaxillary thyroidectomy procedure is feasible and safe. This procedure can be an alternative endoscopic transaxillary method for thyroidectomy.

Transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach vs. transoral robotic thyroidectomy: systematic review and meta-analysis

This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the surgical outcomes of the transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach (TOETVA) and transoral robotic thyroidectomy (TORT). We carried out a systematic literature search of PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar on studies comparing TOETVA and TORT until January 2023. A total of five articles published between 2018 and 2023 that matched the inclusion criteria were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The studies included 641 patients (394 TOETVA patients and 247 TORT patients). TOETVA group was associated with a significantly shorter operative time with a mean difference of 60.08 min [95% confidence interval (CI) - 83.95 to - 36.20; P < 0.001). Transient recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy was more common in the TOETVA group than the TORT group (OR 3.00; 95% CI 1.14-7.88; P = 0.03). There were no significant differences in the other outcomes, including the length of hospital stay, postoperative pain scores, number of central lymph nodes retrieved, permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve injuries, and transient and permanent hypoparathyroidism. The TOETVA group was associated with shorter operative time and more transient recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy than the TORT group. Each procedure has its benefits and limitations. The surgical approach should be determined by considering the patient's characteristics and preferences, as well as the surgeon's preference and area of expertise.