Preliminary evaluation of neck function in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma after endoscopic thyroidectomy using the gasless axillary approach / 中华内分泌外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To compare the postoperative neck pain, discomfort and swallowing difficulty in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) after conventional open thyroidectomy (COT) and endoscopic thyroidectomy using the gasless unilateral axillary approach (ET-UA) .Methods:The study included 117 female patients with PTC who underwent unilateral thyroid lobectomy plus central neck dissection using COT ( n=68) or ET-UA ( n=48) performed by the same experienced surgeon. Subjective neck pain, discomfort and swallowing alterations were assessed by questionnaire 3 day and 6 months postoperatively. Surgical scar and cosmetic satisfaction evaluation were implemented 6 months postoperatively. SPSS 20.0 was used for statistical analysis, the rate or composition ratio was compared by the χ2 test or the exact probability method, and the significance test of the difference in sample means was tested by analysis of variance. Results:Three days after surgery, the neck pain scores of COT group and ET-UA group were (2.13±1.07) and (2.31±1.07) ( P=0.368) ; the neck injury index was (5.13±3.02) and (5.31±3.00) ( P=0.748) ; the dysphagia index was 5 (0.49±3.47) and (3.77±2.96) ( P=0.006) . At 6 months postoperatively, the neck pain scores in COT group and ET-UA group group were (0.52±0.61) and (0.60±0.74) ( P=0.510) ; the neck injury index was (2.10±1.71) and (2.38±2.35) ( P=0.467) ; the dysphagia index was (2.68±2.36) and (1.81±1.83) ( P=0.034) , respectively. Conclusion:Our preliminary study shows that there is no significant differences in postoperative neck pain or discomfort between COT groups and ET-UA group, whereas the impact of ET-UA on swallow function is relatively small than COT.