Table 2.
RLN injury caused by a variety of surgical methods
| Surgical methods | Exposed RLN group | Unexposed RLN group | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||
| RLN injury | Normal RLN | RLN injury | Normal RLN | |
| Biopsy of thyroid nodule | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Resection of thyroid tumor | 0 | 18 | 2 | 44 |
| Unilateral subtotal resection | 4 | 100 | 1 | 4 |
| Unilateral resection of total thyroid | 7 | 171 | 2 | 9 |
| Bilateral subtotal resection | 1 | 29 | 2 | 11 |
| Resection of one side and isthmus and subtotal resection of the other side | 5 | 115 | 2 | 5 |
| Bilateral thyroid and isthmus resection | 1 | 26 | 2 | 6 |
| Bilateral and isthmus resection with neck nodal dissection | 2 | 49 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 20 | 508 | 11 | 84 |