Fig 1.

Illustration depicting the intracapsular thyroidectomy technique. The thyroid gland adjacent to the trachea has been exposed through a ventral midline cervical approach. The ventral aspect of the thyroid capsule has been incised longitudinally and a saline-moistened cotton-tipped applicator (arrow) is used to bluntly dissect the thyroid gland out of the capsule. The vascular supply of the external parathyroid gland is preserved as it crosses the thyroid capsule. The modified intracapsular thyroidectomy technique is similar, but after the thyroid gland is removed, the thyroid capsule caudal to the parathyroid gland is excised and the blood supply caudal to the parathyroid gland is ligated.