"Mystic" transient recurrent nerve palsy after thyroid surgery.

Background: The mechanism of transient recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy remains unclear.

Methods: Samples were harvested from the RLN adjacent thyroid capsule and perineural fascia during 223 lobectomies and 89 RLNs from cadavers were used for histologic and immunohistologic evaluation. Intraoperative chromoendoscopic features of the RLN were compared with postoperative ear, nose, and throat examinations.

[The role of radical surgical approach in the treatment of benign multinodular goitre depending on anatomical variations of the recurrent laryngeal nerve].

Unlabelled: From time to time there is a surprise at the end of surgery - even after subtotal resection - when a vocal cord is observed on indirect laryngoscopy to be non-functional. Surgeons are highly individualistic and develop their own special ways of locating and protecting the nerve. The present study has tried to clarify whether relying on palpation alone during surgery is safe enough in each case.