[Endoscopic thyroid gland surgery without carbon dioxide neck insufflation].

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate endoscopic thyroid gland surgery without carbon dioxide neck insufflation.

METHODS

Sixteen patients with thyroid gland benign tumor, aged from 23-62 years, were selected and treated with endoscopic surgery. Eight cases received whole thyroid lobectomy and the other eight cases received partial thyroid lobectomy, the procedure was through a wall method or a single 2.0-3.0 cm horizontal skin incision. Among the 16 cases, 6 were thyroid adenoma and 10 were nodular goiter.

RESULTS

All patients received endoscopic surgery, 2 cases with sub-clavicle approach and 14 cases with a single 2.0-3.0 cm horizontal skin incision approach. The recurrent laryngeal nerve and parathyroid glands were easily identified and preserved during operation, the operating time lasted from 1.1 hours to 4.0 hours, no complication occurred, the postoperative cosmetic outcome was excellent.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicated that gasless technique is feasible and safe, so it suggested that the video-assisted thyroid surgery without carbon dioxide neck insufflation could be an alternative for thyroid gland surgery.