Video-assisted thyroidectomy under local anesthesia

One theoretical limit of video-assisted thyroidectomy (VAT) was the supposed necessity of general anesthesia. Herein we describe a technique for VAT performed under locoregional anesthesia. Eligibility criteria were small thyroid nodules (<2 cm) in small or normal thyroid glands (thyroid volume ≤...

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Published inThe American journal of surgery Vol. 187; no. 4; pp. 515 - 518
Main Authors Lombardi, Celestino Pio, Raffaelli, Marco, Modesti, Cristina, Boscherini, Mauro, Bellantone, Rocco
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.04.2004
Elsevier
Elsevier Limited
Subjects
Anesthesia
Anesthesia, Local
Biological and medical sciences
Cervical block
Endoscopic thyroidectomy
General aspects
Humans
Investigations
Local anesthesia
Medical research
Medical sciences
Minimally invasive thyroidectomy
Pain
Patients
Regional anesthesia
Surgery
Thyroid Diseases - surgery
Thyroid gland
Thyroidectomy - methods
Video-Assisted Surgery
Video-assisted thyroidectomy
Wound healing
Minimally invasive thyroidectomy
Video-assisted thyroidectomy
Endoscopic thyroidectomy
Regional anesthesia
Cervical block
Local anesthesia
Medicine
Treatment
Surgery
Endoscopy
Thyroidectomy
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Summary:One theoretical limit of video-assisted thyroidectomy (VAT) was the supposed necessity of general anesthesia. Herein we describe a technique for VAT performed under locoregional anesthesia. Eligibility criteria were small thyroid nodules (<2 cm) in small or normal thyroid glands (thyroid volume ≤20 mL), no previous neck surgery or irradiation, and patient motivation for local anesthesia. VAT using locoregional anesthesia was performed under a superficial cervical block. During the procedure, the patients were completely awake and able to speak with members of the surgical team. Intraoperative and postoperative pain, as evaluated by a visual analogue scale, was usually negligible. No complications occurred. Mean postoperative stay was 26 hours. All of the patients were completely satisfied with the cosmetic result, the procedure, and the surgical outcome. VAT is also feasible and safe under local anesthesia. We are optimistic about the future of this approach, which opens a new frontier for minimally invasive procedures in thyroid surgery.
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ISSN:0002-9610
1879-1883
DOI:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2003.12.030