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Transoral robotic‐assisted thyroidectomy: A preclinical feasibility study in 2 cadavers
Author(s) -
Richmon Jeremy D.,
Pattani Kavita M.,
Benhidjeb Tahar,
Tufano Ralph P.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.21454
Subject(s) - medicine , thyroidectomy , surgery , thyroid , cadaver , recurrent laryngeal nerve , dissection (medical) , insufflation , general surgery
Background Technological advances in thyroid surgery have included various “minimally invasive” thyroidectomy techniques, both open and endoscopic. These include not only minimally invasive video‐associated approaches but also variations of the transaxillary approach. More recently, a transoral technique using video assistance has been reported for thyroidectomy. Use of the robot was also recently published in a transaxillary approach to the thyroid. We hypothesized that the robot in combination with the previously described transoral technique would facilitate this novel surgical approach. Methods In 2 human cadavers the da Vinci robot was used to perform a transoral thyroidectomy. The dissection was performed with successful removal of the thyroid gland through the floor of the mouth. Results A total thyroidectomy was performed in 2 cadavers using the da Vinci robot transoral technique. The recurrent laryngeal nerve was preserved. Conclusions Transoral robotic‐assisted thyroidectomy (TRAT) provides an attractive approach to the central compartment for thyroidectomy in a field of “minimally invasive” and “scarless” techniques. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2010