Table 2.
Comparison of operative findings between endoscopic thyroidectomy and robotically assisted thyroidectomya
| Variable | Endoscopic thyroidectomy (n = 39) | Robotically assisted thyroidectomy (n = 7) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight of excised thyroid gland (g) | 19 (10.7–37.0) | 11.3 (6.0–67.1) | 0.021 |
| No. of parathyroid glands identified in unilateral thyroid resection | 2 (0–2) | 2 (1–2) | 0.764 |
| No. of parathyroid glands identified in bilateral thyroid resection | 2 (0–3) | 3 (1–4) | 0.096 |
| Ipsilateral RLNs identified | 35 (89.7) | 6 (85.7) | 1.000 |
| Contralateral RLNs identifiedb | 3 (42.9) | 4 (100) | 0.070 |
| Total procedure time (min) | 100 (50–220) | 149 (92–190) | 0.018 |
| Time for first 7 cases (min) | 120 (95–220) | 149 (92–190) | 0.004 |
| Unilateral thyroid resection time (min) | 96 (50–220) | 102.5 (92–113) | 0.778 |
| Bilateral thyroid resection time (min) | 135 (98–198) | 161 (148–190) | 0.327 |
| Docking time (min) | NA | 15 (10–19) | – |
| Console time (min) | NA | 80 (60–115) | – |
| No. of surgical assistants | 1 (1–2) | 0 | <0.001 |
| Open conversions | 1 (2.6) | 0 (0.0) | 1.000 |
| Blood loss (ml) | 20 (10–60) | 30 (20–60) | 0.723 |
RLN recurrent laryngeal nerve, NA not applicable
aValues are given as n (range) or n (%)
bApplicable only in bilateral thyroid resection