The significance of dissecting the laryngeal nerve in operation of thyroid tumour / 中国癌症杂志

ABSTRACT

Background and purpose:There is controversial about dissecting the laryngeal nerve in operation of thyroid tumour in clinic. We adopted the methods of exposure of recurrent laryngeal nerve(RLN) to study their deficiencies and benefits. Methods:We reviewed review 456 cases of thyroid tumour who were operated. In 266 cases, RLN was unveiled generally. In 190 cases that RLN was not exposed, had subtotal thyroidectomy with protection of amatomical region.Results:RLN injury did not occur in the exposure group. 4 cases occurred in non-exposure group(3 cases of temporary RLN injury and 1 case of permanent RLN injury). Among the 3 cases of temporary RLN injury, one was caused by the large size of tumour, the other two were caused by the location of thyroid tumor. One case of permanent RLN injury was a case of reoperation for recurrence.Conclusions:The familiarity of the anatomy and variation of RLN, and the exposure of RLN in thyroid operation, can reduce the rate of the RLN injury.