Intraoperative Nerve Monitoring Ought to be Used In Complementary Thyroidectomy

Abstract

Background: Injuries to the recurrent inferior laryngeal nerve (RLN) remain one of the major post-operative complications after thyroid surgery. In studies, temporary RLN damage during thyroidectomy is %2-11, and the rate of permanent RLN damage is %0.6-1.6. Complementary thyroidectomies have a higher complication rate compared to the first surgical procedure. In the last two decades, intraoperative neural monitoring has become a powerful tool for risk minimization. In our study, we aimed to retrospectively examine the pa-tients who underwent complementary thyroidectomy and intraoperative nerve monitoring. Materials and Methods: Between January 2016 and February 2020, the files of 54 patients, who underwent complementary thyroidectomy and nerve monitoring in our clinic, were analyzed retrospectively.Patients who did not undergo nerve monitoring were not included in the study. The age, gender, pathology and indication, first surgery type, and the length of hospital stay of the patients, the reason for undergoing complementary thyroidectomy, and whether or not postoperative complications developed in the patients, were all recorded. Results: The mean age of the patients was 44.4 (16-82 years). The average length of hospital stay of the patients was 2.37 (1-5 days). According to the initial pathology results of the patients who underwent comp-lementary thyroidectomy, 34 had papillary thyroid cancer, 6 had follicular thyroid carcinoma or suspicion, 1 had medullary thyroid carcinoma, 1 patient had Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma suspicion and 12 patients had Multinodular Goiter recurrence. Conclusions: As a result, complementary thyroid surgery poses an important problem for surgeons. It has a high rate of complications due to the formation of scar and loss of normal tissue planes. Therefore, we think that the use of intraoperative nerve monitoring during complementary thyroidectomy surgery may be helpful in reducing the occurrence of permanent or temporary recurrent laryngeal nerve damage. Key Words: Intraoperative Nerve Monitoring Complementary Thyroidectomy, Complication