TRANSORAL ROBOTIC-ASSISTED THYROIDECTOMY: A PRECLINICAL FEASIBILITY STUDY IN 2 CADAVERS

Background. Technological advances in thyroid surgery have included various "minimally invasive" thyroidectomy techniques, both open and endoscopic. These include not only minimally invasive video-associated approaches but also variations of the transaxillary approach. More recently, a transoral technique using video assistance has been reported for thyroidectomy. Use of the robot was also recently published in a transaxillary approach to the thyroid. We hypothesized that the robot in combination with the previously described transoral technique would facilitate this novel surgical approach. Methods. In 2 human cadavers the da Vinci robot was used to perform a transoral thyroidectomy. The dissection was performed with successful removal of the thyroid gland through the floor of the mouth. Results. A total thyroidectomy was performed in 2 cadavers using the da Vinci robot transoral technique. The recurrent laryngeal nerve was preserved. Conclusions. Transoral robotic-assisted thyroidectomy (TRAT) provides an attractive approach to the central compartment for thyroidectomy in a field of "minimally invasive" and "scarless" techniques. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 33: 330-333, 2011