Thyroidectomy: Robotic Facelift Approach

Abstract

Robotic technology has led to advances in many surgical fields and has recently been utilized to perform remote access thyroid surgery. This allows for personalized thyroid surgery in which the operation can be performed without a visible anterior neck scar. The robotic facelift thyroidectomy (RFT), which hides the incision in the postauricular region, is especially tailored for North American patients and has been increasingly adopted in many practices that perform robotic thyroid surgery. Proper exposure and pocket development are critical for successful robotic facelift thyroidectomy. A flap is dissected from the posterior auricular incision site to the clavicle. The sternocleidomastoid muscle is retracted, and the omohyoid and strap muscles are elevated to reveal the superior pole of the thyroid. The robot is docked with the patient. The superior vascular pedicle is ligated, and the superior parathyroid gland is identified and saved. The recurrent laryngeal nerve is then identified and preserved. With the recurrent laryngeal nerve in view, the remaining attachments and blood supply to the thyroid lobe are transected, the inferior parathyroid gland is dissected inferolaterally, and the lobe is removed. Unlike other remote access approaches, patients undergoing RFT are discharged on the day of surgery without a drain [1, 2].