Transoral robotic-assisted thyroidectomy: A preclinical feasibility study in 2 cadavers
✍ Scribed by Jeremy D. Richmon; Kavita M. Pattani; Tahar Benhidjeb; Ralph P. Tufano
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2010
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 308 KB
- Volume
- 33
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1043-3074
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
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. V