Safety and outcomes of gasless transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy and lateral neck dissection for papillary thyroid cancer

PurposeEntirely endoscopic surgery via an oral approach is a novel surgical procedure that results in favorable cosmetic outcomes for papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) patients. However, technical constraints have limited the utilization of a single approach for neck lymph node dissection. The aim of this study was to report the safety and outcomes of a novel gasless transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy and lateral neck dissection (LND) procedure for papillary thyroid cancer patients with lateral lymph node metastases.MethodsThis study reported a newly designed suspension system and trocars for a novel surgical procedure of gasless transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy and LND. Patients who underwent gasless transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy and LND at the Department of Thyroid Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology of China, between January 2022 and December 2023 were included. This study documented the demographic information, operative details, postoperative outcomes, and rates of postoperative complications among the patients included in the analysis.ResultsA total of 43 PTC patients, including 6 male patients and 37 female patients with an average age of 30.53 years, were included in the study. The average number of examined lymph nodes was 33.81, including an average of 5.21 examined lymph nodes at level II. The mean operative time was 293.05 min, with an average postoperative hospital stay of 5.21 days. One patient had a history of chyle leakage, three had transient recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, and four experienced transient hypoparathyroidism after surgery.ConclusionOur innovative design of gasless transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy and LND surgery prevents incisional scars and shows promising safety and outcomes in papillary thyroid cancer patients with lateral lymph node metastases. This entirely endoscopic approach represents a viable alternative surgical option for selected cases.