VIDEO ASSISTED NECK SURGERY: INDICATIONS AND OUTCOME

Aim: To study indications and the outcome of video assisted neck surgery in treatment of thyroid and parathyroid diseases. Methods: From Jan 2007 to June 2008; 30 cases of thyroid and parathyroid surgeries were carried out. All procedures were performed using video assisted neck surgery technique (VANS). Size of the gland was a determining factor in case selection. The study included three cases of parathyroid adenomas and twenty seven cases of thyroidectomies, one case underwent total thyroidectomy while 26 cases had thyroid lobectomy. The age of the patients ranged from 26 to 51 years with an average of 37.3+7.9 years and 70% were female. Twenty six cases were solitary thyroid nodule. One case was Graves7 disease where medical treatment was contraindicated. Three cases were parathyroid adenomas. Results: Operative time ranged from 80 to 200 minutes with an average of 123.3+66.6 minutes. Patients were discharged on second postoperative day. Postoperative complications included transient recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and keloid formation. Postoperative pain score was recorded. Conclusions: VANS technique provided a minimally invasive procedure that helped patients to rapidly recover a successful neck surgery with a minimal scar