Transaxillary robotic thyroid surgery: a preliminary European experience.

Background: Robot-assisted endoscopic transaxillary thyroidectomy is an emerging surgical technique that needs to be evaluated in European patients. We evaluate the feasibility and preliminary results of our experience of this technique in a cohort of patients from within a single European university hospital (Nîmes, France).

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the first 23 patients, treated consecutively between September 2010 and June 2012.

Results: Nine patients underwent total thyroidectomy and 14 patients lobectomies. All procedures were completed successfully with a mean total operative time of 134 min. We observed a single case of internal jugular vein injury during the console time. No instances of persistent complications were observed; however, minor postoperative events occurred in 5 patients. Pathological diagnoses included benign follicular adenoma in 18 patients, benign adenoma with lymphoid thyroiditis in 1 patient, and benign adenoma with Graves' disease in 4 patients.

Conclusions: Robotic thyroid surgery is feasible in European patients and can be safely performed on selected patients. This technique has infrequent minor complications and provides a high level of satisfaction.