Exposure recurrent laryngeal nerves during the procedure of thyreoidectomy to prevent permanent nerve injuries

Objective To investigate whether routine exposure recurrent laryngeal nerves(RLN) during the procedure of thyreoidectomy would prevent permanent nerves injuries caused by thyroid surgery.Methods 1523 patients with thyroid disease underwent thyreoidectomy from January 1980 to December 2004.Routine exposure of RLN during the procedure of thyreoidectomy were in 274 cases(group 1) and not in 1249 cases(group 2),the incidence rates of temporary RLN injuries and permanent RLN injures were compared in these groups.Results 3 cases(3/274,1.1%) occurred permanent RLN injuries in group 1 and 47 cases(47/1249,3.8%) occurred RLN injuries in group 2.The incidence rate of permanent RLN injuries in group 1 was lower than that in group 2(P0.05),but there was no difference in the rate of temporary RLN injuries(P0.05) in these groups.Conclusion Exposure recurrent RLN during the procedure of thyreoidectomy can effectively prevent permanent nerves injuries caused by thyroid surgery.