A comparative study of the surgical outcomes of robotic and conventional open modified radical neck dissection for papillary thyroid carcinoma with lateral neck node metastasis
Surgical Endoscopy, 06/04/2012
Kang SW et al. – Robotic modified radical neck dissections (MRND) was found to be similar to conventional open MRND in terms of early surgical outcomes and surgical completeness but leaves no scar on the neck area. Robotic MRND can be viewed as an acceptable alternative method in low–risk PTC with LNM.
Methods- From January 2009 to May 2010, 165 patients with PTC underwent bilateral total thyroidectomy with central compartment neck dissection and ipsilateral MRND.
- Of these patients, 56 formed the robotic procedure group (RG) and 109 the conventional open procedure group.
- These two groups were retrospectively compared with respect to their clinicopathological characteristics, early surgical outcomes, and surgical completeness.
- The operative time was longer, mean tumor size was smaller, mean age was lower, and disease stage was earlier in the RG.
- However, mean numbers of retrieved lymph nodes were similar in the two groups, and mean hospital stay after surgery was shorter in the RG.
- Furthermore, complication rates were similar in the two groups, and there was no statistical difference in postoperative Tg levels between the groups.
