Open Robotic Thyroidectomy in a Porcine Model as a Tool for Translating Novel Robotic Technologies

KeAi: Laparoscopic, Endoscopic & Robotic Surgery, 2023

Emily Funk, Benjamin T Ostrander, Won Seo Park, Florian Richter, Michael Yip, Philip A Weissbrod, Ryan K Orosco

Abstract: Porcine thyroidectomy has been used for several decades as a model to study thyroid surgery, but published anatomic descriptions are decades old. We present a contemporary review of porcine thyroidectomy with a novel description of an open robotic surgical approach.Study Design: Experimental study.Animals: Porcine population.Methods: Porcine cadaveric anatomy study. Results: The porcine infrahyoid musculature is comparable to humans. The arterial supply to the thyroid comes from the thyroid artery. There is a single thyroid lobe located anterior to the trachea with 2 parathyroid glands. Open robotic thyroidectomy is described using 2 instruments and standardized surgical steps are defined. The recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) in the tracheoesophageal groove is separate from the thyroid parenchyma.Conclusion: Porcine thyroid anatomy is similar to humans. A key difference is the separation between the thyroid parenchyma and the RLNs. Characterizing the anatomy and defining surgical steps may help standardize future research efforts toward robotic and minimal-access thyroid surgery.

Funk et al. (2023) Open Robotic Thyroidectomy in a Porcine Model as a Tool for Translating Novel Robotic Technologies, KeAi: Laparoscopic, Endoscopic & Robotic Surgery, pp. 1-12.

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