Aim: To evaluate the protective effect of axillary channel-assisted (ACA) transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach on mental nerve. Materials and Methods: From August 2018 to December 2020, 126 cases of thyroid micro-carcinoma patients who underwent endoscopic thyroidectomy were recruited retrospectively. Of those, 74 cases were performed with ACA trans-oral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach (ACA_TOETVA) (V and A group), 52 cases received standard TOETVA (V group). On postoperative day 1 (POD1), nylon monofilament test and numbness visual analogue scale score were conducted to evaluate the severity of numbness within the mental area, facial expression was tested to determine the motor function of lower mandible and the thickness of cutaneous and subcutaneous layers was measured with ultrasound. The other observation parameters including the time for operation and intraoperative blood loss were carefully collected. Results: On POD1, nylon monofilament test showed that scores in the V and A group (2.9 ± 0.3) were significantly higher than V group (1.7 ± 0.5), P < 0.01, u = 254. The completion percentage of facial expression in the V and A group was 90.5% (67/74) and significantly higher than in V group (21.2%, 11/52), P < 0.01, χ 2 = 62.35. The thickness increment of cutaneous and subcutaneous layer was 2.2 ± 1.2 mm in the V and A group, which was significantly less than in the V group (4.0 ± 1.2 mm), P < 0.01, u = 605. Compared with V group, the operation time (113.4 ± 22.3 min vs. 127.7 ± 25.6 min, u = 1262) and intraoperative blood loss (43.5 ± 13.4 ml vs. 51.0 ± 14.1 ml, u = 1355) were also significantly less in the V and A group. Conclusions: The ACA transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy possesses the protective effect on mental nerve and motor function of lower mandible and facilitates the operative procedures of TOETVA.

Objective. To analyze the clinical intervention effect of transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy on the neck and face during perioperative period. Method. From January 2019 to January 2020, 60 patients included in this study were randomly divided into observation group and control group according to the ratio of 1 : 1, with 30 cases in each group. Both groups underwent rapid surgical intervention during the perioperative period. The patients in the observation group received neck and face management. The degree of jaw swelling, the degree of facial microexpression completion, and the changes in jaw and neck sensation were compared between the two groups. Results. There was no significant difference in neck and face swelling, pain, facial microexpression, and feeling between the two groups before operation. Patients with facial I/II swelling degree in the observation group were significantly more than in the control group, and the patients with III swelling degree were less than in the control group. There was significant difference for facial swelling between the two groups in the three intervention periods after the operation, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05 ). The scores of facial microexpression in the observation group were higher than those in the control group during the three postoperative intervention periods, with statistical significance ( P < 0.05 ). There was no significant difference in the pain score of the first day after surgery between the two groups ( P = 0.298 ). In the other two postoperative intervention periods, the pain score of the observation group was lower than that of the control group, with a statistically significant difference, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05 ). The threshold of chin and neck sensory pressure in the two groups was statistically significant ( P < 0.05 ) except that the “cheek in area 4” ( P = 0.290 ). Conclusion. The results showed that these interventions, such as the elevation of bed after operation, 24-hour intermittent cryotherapy, ice cubes in mouth, and the “meter” functional training, have good clinical effects on the symptoms of facial swelling and abnormal sensation of neck and face. It can accelerate the speed of edema dissipation, improve the patients’ postoperative comfort, and improve the satisfaction and quality of life of patients with the effect of surgery and beauty.