[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.

Place and value of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palpatory method in preventing RLN palsy during thyroid surgery.

Background: In recent years, certain publications have appeared confirming that intraoperative palpation of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) is a very reliable method.

Method: The characteristics of the surgical anatomy of 1023 RLN have been summarized on the basis of intraoperative palpability, running down, branching variations, thickness, and laryngeal entry site.

Results: Palpation was helpful in 81.