The aim of the present study was to determine whether immediate revision surgery has benefits for patients with iatrogenic bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy. From January 1, 2004 to January 30, 2011, 29 consecutive patients underwent immediate revision after total thyroidectomy. The cohort comprised 29 patients, 2 males and 27 females, aged 23 to 76 years (median 52 years). Identi...

BACKGROUND Previous thyroid or parathyroid surgery induces scarring or distorts anatomy, and increases the risk of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury for a reoperation. The benefit of intraoperative nerve monitoring (IONM) for re-exploration (a second nerve exploration) and reoperation has not been established. METHODS Two hundred and ten patients were given a thyroid or parathyroid reope...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the long-term efficacy of delayed laryngeal reinnervation using the main branch of the ansa cervicalis in treatment of unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) caused by thyroid surgery. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA UVFP remains a serious complication of thyroid surgery. Up to now, a completely satisfactory surgical treatment of UVFP has been elusive. METHODS From Jan. 199...

CONTEXT With the advent of modern anatomical and functional imaging technologies, application of cervical mediastinoscopy has decreased in diagnosis and staging of mediastinal diseases. AIM To evaluate the usefulness of cervical mediastinoscopy in assessing the mediastinal disease when imaging modalities are non-diagnostic. SETTINGS AND DESIGN Retrospective analysis of records of a tertiary...

Pulmonary hypertension in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is rare in the absence of parenchymal lung disease. We report such a case, which was complicated by the subsequent development of a left recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, and in which there was a strong family history of SLE.

OBJECTIVE To examine the effect of recurrent laryngeal nerve section on myonuclear addition and myofiber remodeling in adult rabbit laryngeal muscles. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING Unilateral section of the recurrent laryngeal nerve was performed on adult rabbits. Rabbits were labeled with bromodeoxyuridine, euthanized, and the laryngeal muscles were examined for bromodeoxyuridine (brdU) and neona...

OBJECTIVES Our aim was to determine the rate of surgical complications associated with cervical endoscopic discectomy (CED). BACKGROUND DATA There are no studies that state the degree of complications after CED. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-one patients underwent CED with holmium laser. RESULTS Two out of 41 patients incurred vascular compromise during the procedure. One patient developed ...

Introduction Intraoperative complications of tracheostomy are well described in the literature. These include hemorrhage, perforation of the walls of the trachea and esophagus, recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, intraoperative fire, pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum, and tube displacement. We present an unusual complication encountered during a routine tracheostomy that resulted from severe tra...

BACKGROUND Efforts to provide a valid picture of surgeons' individual performance evolution should frame their outcomes in relation to what is expected depending on their experience. We derived the learning curve of young thyroidectomy surgeons as a baseline to enable the accurate assessment of their individual outcomes and avoid erroneous conclusions that may derive from more traditional appro...