A review of application of intraoperative external branch of superior laryngeal nerve monitoring in thyroid surgery

Laryngeal nerves injury, including recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) and superior laryngeal nerve, is one of the most terrible complications of thyroid surgery. External branch of superior laryngeal nerve (EBSLN) is adjacent to the upper pole of thyroid gland, which make it vulnerable to be injured during the ligation of the superior thyroid vessels. As a result, patients would have phonating dysfunction, especially the changes in the voice quality alongside the alterations in the high pitched sound production ability. Intraoperative neural monitoring technique applying neural electrophysiology method to detect and protect the nerve and assess its function during the operation decreases the occurrence of EBSLN injury and improves the living quality. This article is going to make a review of the progress of the application. Key words: External branch of superior laryngeal nerve; Thyroid gland surgery; Intraoperative neural monitoring