Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Paralysis and Hypocalcemia in Superior to Inferior Compared to Inferior to Superior Dissection Approaches in Thyroidectomy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32412/pjohns.v33i2.267Keywords:
recurrent laryngeal nerve injuries, thyroid neoplasms, thyroidectomy, vocal cord paralysis, hypoparathyroidism, hypocalcemiaAbstract
Objective: To compare the incidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury and hypocalcemia in patients who underwent thyroidectomy using a superior-inferior versus an inferior to superior approach in identifying the recurrent laryngeal nerve in a tertiary government hospital between January 2012 to December 2016.
Methods
Design: Retrospective Cohort Study
Setting: Tertiary Government Hospital
Patients: Records of two hundred forty-one (241) adult patients who underwent surgery for thyroid diseases in the department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery between January 2012 and December 2016 were evaluated. Records of patients with postoperative hoarseness after total thyroidectomy or lobectomy with isthmusectomy and hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy were reviewed, and operative techniques analyzed for the approaches to recurrent laryngeal nerve identification.
Results: Records of 119 patients (aged 20-73; median 41-years-old) meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria were analyzed. Of 57 thyroidectomies using a superior-inferior approach, 42 were bilateral, totaling 99; of 62 using an inferior-superior approach, 40 were bilateral, totaling 102. There was a higher incidence of post-operative complications among those who underwent inferior-superior dissection than those who underwent superior-inferior dissection. Chi square test showed the former approach (versus the latter) had 4.86 times the relative risk (RR) of permanent RLN injury (1.9%, 0.0475 to 5.5914, p=.3058), 1.62 times the RR of transient RLN injury (5%, 0.3971 to 6.5889, p=.5021), 1.92 times the RR of permanent hypocalcemia (1.9%, 0.0.1806 to 21.2838, p=.5910), and 2.06 times the RR of transient hypocalcemia (17%, 0.9055 to 4.4333, P=.0738). However, there was no significant difference between the two approaches with regard to hoarseness (independent t test, t value 0.90; p = .367) or hypocalcemia (t=0.428; p= .796).
Conclusion: There is no significant difference in the incidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury and hypocalcemia in patients who underwent thyroidectomy using a superior-inferior versus an inferior to superior approach in identifying the recurrent laryngeal nerve. Intraoperatively, surgeons may shift from one approach to the other as needed, and we recommend that they be well versed in both approaches and fully knowledgeable of the various anatomical courses of the recurrent laryngeal nerve and locations of parathyroid gland.
Keywords: recurrent laryngeal nerve injuries, thyroid neoplasms, thyroidectomy, vocal cord paralysis, hypoparathyroidism, hypocalcemia
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright transfer (all authors; where the work is not protected by a copyright act e.g. US federal employment at the time of manuscript preparation, and there is no copyright of which ownership can be transferred, a separate statement is hereby submitted by each concerned author). In consideration of the action taken by the Philippine Journal of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery in reviewing and editing this manuscript, I hereby assign, transfer and convey all rights, title and interest in the work, including copyright ownership, to the Philippine Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Inc. (PSOHNS) in the event that this work is published by the PSOHNS. In making this assignment of ownership, I understand that all accepted manuscripts become the permanent property of the PSOHNS and may not be published elsewhere without written permission from the PSOHNS unless shared under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
