Tag Archives: thyroidectomy

General Surgery, Otolaryngology, Print Release

PUBLISHED: Robotic Thyroidectomy: A Bilateral Axillo-Breast Approach (BABA)

Robotic Thyroidectomy: A Bilateral Axillo-Breast Approach (BABA)
Hyunsuk Suh, MD
The Mount Sinai Hospital

Bilateral axillo-breast approach (BABA) is a contemporary technique for remote-access thyroidectomy. BABA robotic thyroidectomy (RT) offers a number of benefits over other remote-access thyroidectomy techniques, such as provision of a three-dimensional symmetric view of bilateral thyroid lobes and optimal visualization of important anatomical landmarks, including the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN), thyroidal vessels, parathyroid glands, and the trachea.

This educational video is a thorough demonstration of BABA RT performed on a young female patient diagnosed with a left-sided thyroid nodule in her early thirties. The thyroid fine needle aspiration biopsy of the 4-cm nodule was indeterminate. Additional molecular testing of the specimen had revealed one of the mutations associated with thyroid cancer. Therefore, a diagnostic thyroid lobectomy was planned. The patient had expressed a strong desire to avoid an obvious neck scar, and therefore, the BABA RT was offered.

General Surgery, Otolaryngology, Print Release

PUBLISHED: Trans-Oral Endoscopic Thyroidectomy Vestibular Approach (TOETVA)

Trans-Oral Endoscopic Thyroidectomy Vestibular Approach (TOETVA)
Yale School of Medicine

Courtney Gibson, MD, MS, FACS
Assistant Professor of Endocrine Surgery
Yale School of Medicine

Tobias Carling, MD, PhD, FACS
Chief of Endocrine Surgery
Yale School of Medicine

In this case, Dr. Tobias Carling and Dr. Courtney Gibson at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven perform a TOETVA on a 45-year-old patient who presented with a growing thyroid nodule that was shown to be a Hurthle cell neoplasm on fine-needle aspiration.

Numerous minimally-invasive approaches to thyroidectomy have been developed over the years to minimize the neck surgical scar, many of which are performed using endoscopic or robotic assistance. However, a more diminutive anterior cervical scar still remains a problem for some patients, as well as more extensive dissections for remote access operations. Therefore, natural orifice surgery was adopted at select institutions in an effort to perform a truly scarless thyroidectomy. Trans-oral endoscopic thyroidectomy has been the latest approach developed, known as the natural orifice transluminal endoscopic thyroidectomy, which is categorized as a natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) procedure. There are several ways to perform the natural orifice transluminal endoscopic thyroidectomy. Here, the authors present the TOETVA under general anesthesia.

Announcement, Content, General Surgery, Preprint Release

PREPRINT RELEASE: Bilateral Modified Radical Neck Dissection

Bilateral Modified Radical Neck Dissection
Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven

Tobias Carling, MD, PhD, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery
Yale School of Medicine

In 2014, a now 61-year-old male had a total thyroidectomy and central neck dissection for bilateral papillary thyroid cancer with extrathyroidal extension. Now, after presenting with recurrent metastatic papillary thyroid cancer, Dr. Tobias Carling performs a bilateral modified radical neck dissection.