Background and Objectives: Various surgical procedures have been performed using surgical robot in recent years and most reports proved that application of robotic technology for surgery is technically feasible and safe. The aim of this study is to introduce our technique of robot-assisted endoscopic thyroid surgery and demonstrate its utility in the surgical management of thyroid cancer. Materials and Methods: From October 4th 2007 through March 14th 2008, 100 patients with papillary thyroid cancer underwent robot-assisted endoscopic surgeries using a gasless trans-axillary approach. This novel robotic surgical approach allowed adequate endoscopic access for thyroid surgeries. All the procedures were completed successfully using the da Vinci surgical system (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, California, USA). We used four robotic arms with this system; a 12 mm telescope and three 5 mm instruments. The 3-dimensional magnified visualization obtained by the dual-channel endoscope and tremor-free instruments controlled by robot system helped surgeon do sharp and precise endoscopic dissection. Results: We performed 84 less-than total and 16 total thyroidectomies with ipsilateral central compartment node dissection. Mean operation times was 136.5 min. (range 79∼267 min.) in which the actual time for thyroidectomy with lymphadenectomy (console time) was 60.0 min. (range 25∼157 min). The average number of lymph nodes resected was 5.3 (range 1 to 28). There was no serious complication. Most patients could go home within 3 days after surgery. Conclusion: Our technique of robotic-assisted endoscopic thyroid surgery using a gasless trans-axillary approach is feasible, safe and promising for the selected patients with thyroid cancer. We suggest application of robotic technology for endsocopic thyroid surgeries could overcome the limitations of conventional endoscopic surgeries in the surgical management of thyroid cancer.ope
