A comparison of surgical outcomes between endoscopic and robotically assisted thyroidectomy: the authors' initial experience.

Background: The gasless, transaxillary endoscopic thyroidectomy (GTET) offers a distinct advantage over the conventional open operation by leaving no visible neck scar, and in an attempt to improve its ergonomics and surgical outcomes, the robotically assisted thyroidectomy (RAT) was introduced. The RAT uses the same endoscopic route as the GTET but with the assistance of the da Vinci S robotic system. Excellent results for RAT have been reported, but it remains unclear whether RAT offers any potential benefits over GTET.

Isotope-guided surgery for nonpalpable breast cancer.

Background: The hook-wire technique is used to guide surgical excision of nonpalpable breast lesions. Recently, isotope has been used to guide the excision, and when sentinel node biopsy is performed during the same operation, the procedure is termed Sentinel Node and Occult Lesion Localization (SNOLL). We evaluated the use of this procedure for nonpalpable cancers in Chinese women.