Minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy for papillary carcinoma: a prospective study of its completeness.

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy (MIVAT) in papillary thyroid carcinoma is still debated. Some are concerned about this procedure in patients with thyroid cancer. This prospective study aimed to demonstrate that near-total thyroidectomy can be performed by MIVAT with similar results compared with open thyroidectomy.

METHODS: A total of 33 patients with a thyroid nodule proven to be a papillary thyroid carcinoma underwent a near-total thyroidectomy. They were randomly assigned to group A (n = 16) or group B (n = 17) who were treated either by MIVAT or conventional near-total thyroidectomy, respectively. Iodine-131 thyroid bed uptake and serum thyroglobulin were measured 1 month after operation. Data were analyzed by unpaired t test and Mann-Whitney statistic methods.

RESULTS: . Mean iodine-131 uptake was 5.1 +/- 4.9% in group A and 4.6 +/- 6.7% in group B. Mean thyroglobulin serum levels were 5.3 +/- 5.8 ng/mL in group A and 7.6 +/- 21.7 ng/mL in group B. The differences were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study showed that the completeness obtained with MIVAT is similar to that obtained with open thyroidectomy, with the great advantage of a minimal neck wound. No conclusions can be drawn in terms of influence of MIVAT on the outcome of the patients with small papillary thyroid carcinoma.