Institutional experience of 200 consecutive papillary thyroid carcinoma patients in transoral robotic thyroidectomy surgeries

Abstract

Background We evaluated the outcomes of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) who underwent transoral robotic thyroidectomy (TORT). Methods We retrospectively analyzed the perioperative outcomes of 200 patients (170 women and 30 men) with PTC who underwent TORT at a single center between March 2016 and February 2018. Results There were 182 and 13 cases of lobectomy and total thyroidectomy, respectively, with corresponding mean operative times of 200.6 +/- 31.2 and 265.7 +/- 63.0 minutes. On average, 5.6 +/- 3.45 lymph nodes were retrieved per patient. There were 12 cases of perioperative morbidity. No conversion to endoscopic or conventional open surgery was noted. In a subgroup analysis for predictors of difficult TORT, patient sex was the only factor showing a significant operative time difference between a difficult and a nondifficult thyroidectomy. Conclusion TORT can be performed safely in patients with PTC without serious complications.