Table 5.
Technical differences in thyroid/parathyroid surgery by years of experience (n, % of responses).
| Always/Mostly | Half-time | Some-times | Rarely | Unsure | P(t-test) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Use RLN neuromonitor | ||||||
| 10 or less | 21(29) | 4(6) | 9(13) | 38(53) | - | .330 |
| 11 or more | 28(24) | 4(3) | 16(13) | 69(58) | ||
| Use electrocautery near TE groove | ||||||
| 10 or less | 6(8) | 3(4) | 8(11) | 55(76) | - | .431 |
| 11 or more | 12(10) | 2(2) | 26(22) | 79(66) | ||
| Use bipolar near TE groove | ||||||
| 10 or less | 23(32) | 5(7) | 11(15) | 33(46) | - | .435 |
| 11 or more | 29(24) | 11(9) | 22(19) | 57(48) | ||
| Use harmonic scalpel on vessels | ||||||
| 10 or less | 22(31) | 7(10) | 10(14) | 32(44) | - | .678 |
| 11 or more | 33(28) | 20(17) | 20(17) | 45(38) | ||
| Dissect RLN | ||||||
| 10 or less | 44(61) | 11(15) | 10(14) | 7(10) | - | .862 |
| 11 or more | 76(64) | 14(12) | 16(13) | 12(10) | ||
| Look for EBSLN | ||||||
| 10 or less | 22(31) | 12(17) | 19(26) | 18(25) | 1(1) | .235 |
| 11 or more | 31(26) | 16(13) | 31(26) | 40(34) | 1(1) | |
| Divide Strap muscles | ||||||
| 10 or less | 9(13) | 3(4) | 11(15) | 49(68) | 0(0) | .164 |
| 11 or more | 3(3) | 2(2) | 36(30) | 76(64) | 2(2) |
P-values are t-test where categories were coded as 4-Always, 3-Half-time, 2-Sometime and 1-Rarely and treated as ordinal data. “Unsure” data were not included in the analysis.