Objectives: Various techniques of endoscopic thyroidectomy have been developed in thyroid resection since 1998 in the aspect of excellent cosmetic viewpoint. Of them, we evaluated our experiences and advantages of gasless axillary approach technique for resection of dominant thyroid nodules.
Material and Methods: Twenty-nine cases of thyroid nodules were operated by the technique of gasless axillary approach during one year from December 2003 to December 2004. Twenty four patients underwent total lobectomy and five patients were partial lobectomy.
Results: The operation time of first case took 300 minutes, however it became gradually shortened with case experiences down to 100-120 minutes. Pathologically, nodular hyperplasia was twenty cases, follicular adenoma five cases, papillary carcinoma three patients, and Hashimoto’’s thyroiditis one patient. There was no case of conversion to open thyroidectomy. Three cases of postoperative hoarseness were recovered spontaneously in 3 months. Hospital stay was four days for most patients. The cosmetic result was excellent without visible scar in anterior neck and chest.
Conclusion: Endoscopic thyroidectomy via gasless axillary approach shows excellent result in cosmetic view point with hidden incision scar at axilla, and shorter hospitalization. However a question of longer operation time for dissection of the long plane over pectoral muscle is still remained.
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