[Clinical application of modified endoscopic thyroidectomy].

Objective: To compare clinical outcomes of endoscopic thyroidectomy via mammary areola approach and conventional via chest wall and breasts approach.

Methods: A total of 480 cases undergoing endoscopic thyroidectomy for thyroid nodules between September 2002 and September 2012 were reviewed, including 280 cases via the chest wall and breasts approach between September 2002 and August 2009 and 190 cases via mammary areola approach between September 2002 and September 2012. The mean operation time, the location and diameter of the puncture pore, intraoperative bleeding volume, the mean hospital stay after surgery, postoperative pain score scaled by visual analog scores (VAS) were compared between groups.