Current Status of Robotic Thyroid Surgery in South Korea: A Web‐Based Survey

Abstract

Opinions differed regarding the advantages and disadvantages of two approaches for RoT. This may be due to differences in surgical procedure itself between two approach methods. Accumulation of RoT surgeon's experiences might establish consensus regarding patient selection and indications for the RoT will need to be further investigated.

Prospective, randomized controlled trial on use of ropivacaine after robotic thyroid surgery: Effects on postoperative pain

“…Because there are distinct advantages to remote‐access robotic thyroid surgery, including the lack of visible scarring in the neck region and the ability to perform precise surgical manipulations in the narrow working space, these procedures are widely performed . BABA is a prevalent remote‐access procedure used in robotic thyroid surgery and has excellent cosmetic results with surgical and oncologic safety.…”

Robotic thyroidectomy and cervical neck dissection for thyroid cancer

“…Excellent cosmetic outcomes and reductions in pain and dysphagia have also been reported with this technique (17)(18)(19)(20)(21). Robotic thyroid surgery is particularly prevalent in Korea, where more than 8,000 cases of robotic thyroidectomy were performed from 2007 to 2011 (2,000 procedures in 2011 alone) (22).…”

“…However, the surgical indications for robotic thyroidectomy have expanding as surgeons' experience levels have increased. A recent web-based survey conducted by Bae et al reported that the main indications for robotic thyroidectomy were papillary thyroid cancers <2 cm in size, intracapsular lesions, a non-posterior location, and no clinical evidence of lateral LN metastasis (22).…”

“…Contralateral lobectomy with TAA can be performed safely after a necessary learning curve. In a web-based survey conducted in South Korea in 2011, surgeons who used the BABA listed completeness of contralateral lobectomy and better cosmesis as advantages and difficulty with neck node dissection as a major disadvantage, whereas surgeons who used the TAA considered the facilitation of neck node dissection to be an advantage and difficulty with achieving a complete contralateral lobectomy as a disadvantage (22).…”

Comparison of effects of desflurane and sevoflurane on postoperative nausea, vomiting, and pain in patients receiving opioid-based intravenous patient-controlled analgesia after thyroidectomy

“…[2] For the treatment of this condition, open thyroidectomy is performed worldwide with low morbidity and mortality. [3] Thyroidectomy is associated with relatively moderate pain; therefore, many patients require pain control and management during the early postoperative phase, [4,5] and the pain can progress to a chronic form. Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), which allows patients to self-administer pain medications, is known to control postoperative pain efficiently.…”