Prevalence and patterns of intraoperative nerve monitoring for thyroidectomy.

Objective: To estimate the patterns of use of intraoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN)-monitoring devices during thyroid surgery by otolaryngologists in the United States.

Methods: A questionnaire was mailed to 1685 randomly selected otolaryngologists, representing approximately half of all otolaryngologists currently practicing in the United States. Topics covered included training history and current practice setting, use and characteristics of use of RLN monitoring during thyroid surgery, as well as history of RLN injury and/or subsequent lawsuits.