Protection of recurrent laryngeal nerve during thyroidectomy

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of surgical technique improvement in thyroid lobectomy for prevention of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury. Methods The clinical data of 85 patients of thyroid disease undergoing 126 lobectomies from Jan 2010 to Jan 2011 were retrospectively analyzed.All patients undergone accurate thyroid lobectomy with accurate envelop anatomic dissection,skeletonized blood vessels. Recurrent laryngeal nerve was all dearly exposed. Results No-bleeding surgical area was achieved.The RLN was exposed.Unilateral temporary RLN injury occurred in 2 cases.The rate of RLN injury was 1.59％ (2/126). There was no bilateral and perpetual RLN injury.Conclusions Carrying through the accurate thyroid lobectomy,the incidence of RLN injury is low. Key words: Thyroid diseases; Thyroidectomy; Recurrent laryngeal nerve; Wounds and injury