Hypothyroidism is one of the focuses of attention in the field of thyroid surgery, but postoperative hypoparathyroidism has always been an unavoidable complication for surgeons. Currently, there is still controversy over the definition and classification of postoperative hypoparathyroidism, and there are significant differences in the definition and incidence of permanent hypoparathyroidism among different studies. The author provides preliminary suggestions and ideas for the diagnosis and definition of hypoparathyroidism based on relevant guidelines, literature, and clinical experience, in order to provide more accurate diagnosis and treatment plans for postoperative hypoparathyroidism.
Objective To explore anatomical features and variation of non-recurrent laryngeal nerve and to summarize identification method, operation skill, and damage treatment experience of it. Method The clinical data of 15 patients with non-recurrent laryngeal nerve in 4 054 patients who underwent thyroidectomy from our division by the same medical group from January 2006 to January 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Results A total of 6 626 recurrent laryngeal nerve (left side 3 248, right side 3 378) were exposed in 4 054 cases. Fifteen patients with non-recurrent laryngeal nerve were detected with an incidence of 0.23% (15/6 626), all located on the right side. There were 3 males and 12 females. There were 3 cases of type Ⅰ, 10 cases of type Ⅱa, 2 cases of type Ⅱb. And 2 patients with non-recurrent laryngeal nerve were injured. Conclusions Incidence of non-recurrent laryngeal nerve is lower, most of which occur on right side of neck, there is a high injury rate for its special anatomical location. It’s key to prevent nerve injury for careful interpreting preoperative auxiliary examination results and improving awareness of non-recurrent laryngeal nerve, fining dissection, conventional exposuring recurrent laryngeal nerve, and accurate using nerve monitor during operation.
Thyroid disease is more common in young women. Traditional surgical scars may affect the appearance of patients and cannot fully meet the cosmetic needs of patients. With the advancement of surgical techniques, endoscopic thyroid surgery has developed rapidly. Trans oral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach is feasible and safe to achieve no scar on the body surface, but there are some unavoidable limitations, such as postoperative numbness and discomfort in the center of the chin region. As a new approach to thyroid surgery, trans oral endoscopic thyroidectomy submental access has the same advantages as the trans oral vestibular approach from top to bottom, and can reliably and thoroughly dissect lymph nodes in the central area (especially area Ⅶ), allowing larger specimens to be taken out and expands the indications for surgery, minimizes flap detachment, and avoids jaw pain and numbness. Trans oral endoscopic thyroidectomy submental access is an innovation in the concept of thyroid surgery, which achieves minimally invasive and aesthetic results on the premise of ensuring the quality of the surgery and curing the disease. We reviewed the history, advantages and disadvantages of trans oral endoscopic thyroidectomy submental access.
【Abstract】Objective To investigate the safety and clinical significance of total thyroidectomy performed for benign thyroid disease. Methods Eighty-eight patients with benign thyroid disease were treated with total thyroidectomy. The postoperative complications were analyzed. Results With primary total thyroidectomy, the incidences of transient hypocalcemia and transient recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis were 2.5% and 1.2% respectively. The incidences after reoperation were 28.6%（P＜0.05）and 28.6%（P＜0.01）respectively. No patients had permanent hypoparathyroidism and permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve injury. Conclusion Total thyroidectomy can be performed safely. It can avoid reoperation for the recurrence caused by the remainder thyroid.
Objective To compare the mean operative time and complications between the LigaSure device and Harmonic Scalpel during video-assisted endoscopic approaches thyroidectomy. Methods The clinical data of 684 cases performed Miccoli thyroidectomy by the same operation team from January 2007 to December 2011 in the department of general surgery，Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University were analyzed. Three hundred and forty-nine patients were used Harmonic Scalpel，335 patients were used LigaSure device. The mean operative time and complications （such as hematoma，transient hoarseness，permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve injury，and hypocalcemia） were compared between two groups. Results A total of 684 patients were included in the study，of whom 263 underwent total thyroidectomy and 421 underwent lobectomy. There were not significant differences of the operative time and the complications in both thyroidectomy and lobectomy between the LigaSure device and Harmonic Scalpel（P＞0.05）. Conclusions The uses of the LigaSure device and Harmonic Scalpel in thyroid surgery are safe and reliable，surgeons may choose surgical instruments by habits and medical equipments.
ObjectiveTo summarize the risk factors of the change of voice quality after thyroidectomy without recurrent laryngeal nerve injury and to provide reference for the prevention and treatment of postoperative voice quality damages.MethodThe research progress of the change of voice quality after thyroidectomy without recurrent laryngeal nerve injury was reviewed by reading the related literatures at home and abroad.ResultsEven if there was no obvious recurrent laryngeal nerve injury during the operation, the voice quality may change after the operation for the patients undergoing thyroidectomy. The change of voice quality after thyroidectomy without recurrent laryngeal nerve injury was associated with various risk factors such as dysfunction of superior laryngeal nerve, injury of anterior laryngeal band muscles, endotracheal intubation, surgical methods, age, gender and special occupations.ConclusionsThe change of voice quality is a common complication after thyroidectomy, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. In the absence of significant recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, many patients will still experience problems with voice quality. Understanding the related risk factors of voice quality change after thyroidectomy is helpful to optimize postoperative voice function, to prevent possible secondary injuries, and to improve the quality of life of patients.
Objective To explore the protection of the structure and function around the upper pole of the thyroid gland by endoscopic thyroidectomy combined with nerve detection through the gasless unilateral axillary approach. Methods From January 2019 to June 2020, 48 thyroid patients who underwent the gasless unilateral axillary approach combined with the endoscopy and nerve detection technology in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery of Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital were reviewed as the endoscopic group, and 53 thyroid patients underwent open surgery combined with the endoscopy and nerve detection technology as the open group. The protection of the functional structure of the suprathyroid pole were compared. Results In terms of operation time, the endoscopic group was longer than that of the open group (67.5 min vs. 54.1 min, P=0.001). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in terms of postoperative hospital stay and blood loss (P>0.05). Forty-seven patients with the endoscopic thyroid surgery through the gasless unilateral axillary approach effectively detected the superior laryngeal nerve (47/48, 97.9%), which was higher than that of the open group (40/53, 75.5%), P=0.003, and the exposure rate of hypoglossal nerve descending branch in the endoscopic group was also higher [31.3% (15/48) vs. 3.8% (2/53), P=0.001]. In the endoscopic group, the superior parathyroid gland was kept in situ during the operation, and there was no change of voice and cough after the operation. In the open group, there were 2 cases of autologous transplantation of the upper pole parathyroid gland, 2 patients had voice changes, and 1 case had partial upper pole banded muscle incision. There was no significant difference in the incidence of nerve injury complications, the rate of autologous transplantation of the upper pole parathyroid gland and the rate of anterior cervical banded muscle injury between the two groups (P>0.05). In addition, there was no significant difference in the levels of parathyroid hormone, blood calcium, blood magnesium and blood phosphorus between the two groups before/after operation (P>0.05). Conclusion During the endoscopic thyroidectomy through the gasless unilateral axillary approach, the nerve monitoring technology is combined with the exploration and protection of the superior laryngeal nerve on the surface of the medial cricothyroid muscle of the upper pole of the thyroid, and the fine capsule anatomy technology is used to protect the superior parathyroid gland in situ, which can more effectively expose the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve. It is conducive to the protection of the structures around the upper pole.
Objective To compare the efficacy and complication between harmonic scalpel and traditional electric knife in open thyroidectomy. Methods A total of 160 thyroid disease patients who underwent open thyroidectomy in The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University from February 2016 to January 2017, were collected and divided into harmonic scalpel group and traditional electric knife group randomly, each group enrolled 80 patients. The efficacy of thyroidectomy, postoperative pain, and complication between the 2 groups were compared and analyzed. Results Compared with the traditional electric knife group, the operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume, postoperative drainage time, length of incision, and hospital stay were all significantly lower in the harmonic scalpel group (P<0.05). The incidences hoarseness, wound bleeding, hypoparathyroidism, and total complication in the harmonic scalpel group were all lower than those of the traditional electric knife group (P<0.05). The pain scores after operation in the harmonic scalpel group were significant lower than corresponding pain scores of the traditional electric knife group (P<0.05). Conclusion The harmonic scalpel could effectively improve the efficacy of open thyroidectomy, reduce the pain degree and the incidence of complication in thyroid disease patients.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the safety and efficacy of gasless endoscopic thyroidectomy via transaxillary approach in treating papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). MethodsThe patients who underwent gasless endoscopic thyroidectomy (Abbreviated as the “endoscopic group”) and neck open surgery (Abbreviated as the “open group”), in the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital from January 2018 to June 2023, were collected. The intraoperative and postoperative outcomes of the patients in the two groups were compared after propensity score matching (PSM). Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 26.0 software, with a test level of α=0.05. ResultsAfter PSM, there were 409 patients in the endoscopic group and 421 patients in the open group. There were no statistically significant differences in the baseline data between the two groups (P>0.05), except for tumor location, vascular invasion, intraglandular dissemination, and preoperative levels of total triiodothyronine and thyroid hormone (P<0.05). Compared with the open group, the patients in the endoscopic group had less intraoperative blood loss (P<0.05), higher points of incision satisfaction and cosmetic effect (P<0.05), but the number of lymph nodes dissected was less (P<0.05) and the operation time was longer (P<0.05) in the endoscopic group. The incidence of postoperative overall complications had no statistically significant difference between the endoscopic group and open group (3.6% versus 5.8%, P=0.127). There was no statistically significant difference in the recurrence rate between the endoscopic group and open group within one year of follow-up (0.2% versus 0.5%, P=0.099). ConclusionsFrom the results of this study, the gasless endoscopic thyroidectomy is safety and reliability in treatment of PTC. It can achieve the same effect as traditional open thyroidectomy. However, it can also be seen that young female patients are more willing to choose gasless endoscopic thyroidectomy as long as their condition permits (such as early tumor stage, low invasiveness).
Objective To explore the accuracy and efficiency of indocyanine green fluorescence (ICGF) imaging in evaluating blood perfusion of parathyroid gland (PG) during total thyroidectomy. Methods Seventy patients who underwent total thyroidectomy and bilateral central lymph node dissection for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) from March 2021 to December 2021 were enrolled and randomly divided into experimental group (ICGF imaging, n=35) and control group (normal treatment, n=35). Blood perfusion of PGs was evaluated by ICGF imaging and naked eye in each group respectively. The perfusion of PGs, incidence of hypoparathyroidism, and number of autotransplanted PGs were analyzed between the two groups. Results There was no difference between two groups in the incidence of transient hypoparathyroidism (P=0.339), and no one occurred permanent hypoparathyroidism. More PGs were autotransplanted in the experimental group compared to the control group (P＜0.001). At least one PG with good perfusion in the experimental group predicted an extremely high rate of normal parathyroid hormone levels of the patients postoperatively than the control group (P=0.003). Conclusion ICGF imaging can evaluate the blood perfusion of PGs accurately and guide their autotransplantation.