Table 5.
Pooled surgical outcomes between ET and OT groups from all eligible studies
| Outcomes | ET | OT | References |
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| Intraoperative outcomes | |||
| Operative time (minutes) | 142.0±45.9 | 92.3±36.6 | 7, 27–31, 34–36 |
| No of retrieved LNs | 4.3±4.1 | 4.7±4.0 | 7, 27–31, 33–35 |
| Blood loss (mL) | 19.6±24.5 | 14.5±9.8 | 7, 31, 34, 36 |
| Postoperative outcomes | |||
| Duration of drainage (days) | 5.9±1.9 | 4.6±2.0 | 31, 34, 36 |
| Volume of drainage (mL) | 202.3±142.0 | 112.7±56.9 | 28, 29, 31, 34, 36 |
| Hospitalization period (days) | 5.3±2.5 | 4.8±2.9 | 27–30, 34, 36 |
| Transient RLN palsy, n (%) | 64 (8.3) | 60 (3.3) | 7, 26–29, 31–36 |
| Permanent RLN palsy, n (%) | 7 (1.1) | 8 (0.5) | 26–29, 32–36 |
| Transient hypocalcemia, n (%) | 116 (20.9) | 366 (25.8) | 26, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34–36 |
| Permanent hypocalcemia, n (%) | 10 (1.9) | 31 (2.2) | 26, 28, 29, 32, 34–36 |
| Hematoma or bleeding, n (%) | 13 (1.9) | 17 (1.1) | 7, 26–32, 35, 36 |
| Seroma, n (%) | 10 (3.9) | 9 (2.5) | 7, 27–29 |
| Oncological outcomes | |||
| sTg <1.0 ng/mL, n (%) | 9 (31.0) | 176 (51.3) | 26, 32 |
| Tumor recurrences, n (%) | 6 (1.5) | 31 (2.6) | 26, 29–32, 36 |
Abbreviations: ET, endoscopic thyroidectomy; LN, lymph node; OT, open thyroidectomy; RLN, recurrent laryngeal nerve; sTg, stimulated thyroglobulin.