• Home
  • Practice Focus
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
    • How I Do It
    • TRIO Best Practices
  • Business of Medicine
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Practice Management
    • Tech Talk
    • AI
  • Literature Reviews
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Career
    • Medical Education
    • Professional Development
    • Resident Focus
  • ENT Perspectives
    • ENT Expressions
    • Everyday Ethics
    • From TRIO
    • The Great Debate
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Rx: Wellness
    • The Voice
    • Viewpoint
  • TRIO Resources
    • Triological Society
    • The Laryngoscope
    • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
    • TRIO Combined Sections Meetings
    • COSM
    • Related Otolaryngology Events
  • Search

Minimally Invasive Thyroidectomy Not Inferior to Conventional Surgery

by Linda Kossoff • October 25, 2023

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Print-Friendly Version

How do invasive and remote surgical approaches for thyroid tumors compare in morbidity rate and patients’ cosmetic satisfaction?

BOTTOM LINE

You Might Also Like

  • A Meta-Analysis of Minimally Invasive Video-Assisted Thyroidectomy
  • Outpatient and Minimally Invasive Approaches Or Safe and Effective Options for Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery
  • What Is the Role of Transoral Thyroidectomy?
  • Study Highlights Need to Identify Blood Transfusion Risk Factors in Patients Receiving Thyroidectomy
Explore This Issue
October 2023

Minimally invasive thyroidectomy achieves high cosmetic satisfaction and is not inferior to conventional thyroidectomy in terms of surgical results or perioperative complications.

BACKGROUND: Conventional thyroidectomy provides a good view of the surgical field, potentially lowering the chance of complications; however, the resulting neck scar is cosmetically undesirable to many patients. Minimally invasive and remote-access surgical approaches, most of which are endoscopically or robotically assisted, have been developed to improve cosmetic outcomes.

STUDY DESIGN: Network meta-analysis.

SETTING: Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul Saint Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.

SYNOPSIS: Researchers mined multiple databases for studies in which adult patients underwent thyroid surgery with conventional thyroidectomy or one of eight endoscopic and robotic approaches. Their analysis included 13,008 subjects enrolled in 72 studies. Operative outcomes and perioperative complications were recorded. Findings showed that overall, a minimally invasive approach to thyroid surgery was not inferior to conventional thyroidectomy in surgical outcomes or perioperative complications. Endoscopic and robotic transaxillary thyroidectomy (EAx and RAx, respectively), endoscopic and robotic bilateral axillo-breast (EBAB and RBAB, respectively), and endoscopic transoral approaches were associated with more postoperative drainage than other methods. Postoperatively, more flap problems and wound infections were found in the robotic transoral approach than in the control group, and more transient vocal cord palsy was seen in the EAx and EBAB groups. Minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy ranked first in operative time, postoperative drainage, postoperative pain, and hospitalization, but cosmetic satisfaction was low. Authors state that choice of surgical method should consider method characteristics, location/extent of lesion, patient’s anatomical structure, and patient preference. Study limitations included sole use of numerical data.

CITATION: Kim DH, Kim SW, Kim G-J, et al. Efficacy and safety of minimally invasive thyroid surgery: a network meta-analysis. Laryngoscope. 2023;133:2470–2479.

Filed Under: Laryngology, Laryngology, Literature Reviews, Practice Focus Tagged With: minimally invasive surgery, thyroidectomyIssue: October 2023

You Might Also Like:

  • A Meta-Analysis of Minimally Invasive Video-Assisted Thyroidectomy
  • Outpatient and Minimally Invasive Approaches Or Safe and Effective Options for Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery
  • What Is the Role of Transoral Thyroidectomy?
  • Study Highlights Need to Identify Blood Transfusion Risk Factors in Patients Receiving Thyroidectomy

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

Polls

Have you invented or patented something that betters the field of otolaryngology?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive

Top Articles for Residents

  • Applications Open for Resident Members of ENTtoday Edit Board
  • How To Provide Helpful Feedback To Residents
  • Call for Resident Bowl Questions
  • New Standardized Otolaryngology Curriculum Launching July 1 Should Be Valuable Resource For Physicians Around The World
  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Otolaryngologists as Entrepreneurs: Transforming Patient Care And Practice

    • Otolaryngologists Are Still Debating the Effectiveness of Tongue Tie Treatment

    • Continued Discussion And Engagement Are Essential To How Otolaryngologists Are Championing DEI Initiatives In Medicine

    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?

    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment

    • Rating Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Severity: How Do Two Common Instruments Compare?

    • Is Middle Ear Pressure Affected by Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Use?

    • Otolaryngologists Are Still Debating the Effectiveness of Tongue Tie Treatment

    • Complications for When Physicians Change a Maiden Name

    • Leaky Pipes—Time to Focus on Our Foundations
    • You Are Among Friends: The Value Of Being In A Group
    • How To: Full Endoscopic Procedures of Total Parotidectomy
    • How To: Does Intralesional Steroid Injection Effectively Mitigate Vocal Fold Scarring in a Rabbit Model?
    • What Is the Optimal Anticoagulation in HGNS Surgery in Patients with High-Risk Cardiac Comorbidities?

Follow Us

  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • The Triological Society
  • The Laryngoscope
  • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies

Wiley

Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. ISSN 1559-4939