title: Video-assisted neck surgery for thyroid and parathyroid diseases.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Endoscopic surgery has now become a well-established modality for the treatment of various organ diseases. In the present study, we analyzed the surgical results achieved by video-assisted neck surgery (VANS) in thyroid and parathyroid diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  From January 2000 to April 2002, 87 patients (eight males and 79 females) with a mean age of 49 years underwent VANS. The preoperative diagnoses of these patients included 37 benign thyroid tumors, 30 Graves' diseases, 17 parathyroid adenomas and three thyroid cancers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean operative time of VANS was 165 min for a hemithyroidectomy, 287 min for a subtotal thyroidectomy, and 157 min for a parathyroidectomy. The mean intraoperative blood loss was 60, 183 and 23 g for a hemithyroidectomy, subtotal thyroidectomy and parathyroidectomy, respectively. No conversion from VANS to conventional surgery was experienced. Three patients (3.4%) had temporary palsy of the recurrent laryngeal nerve. Otherwise, the postoperative courses were uneventful.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  VANS for thyroid and parathyroid diseases was found to be safe and effective. From a cosmetic point of view, a high degree of patient satisfaction was obtained. VANS is thus considered to be an excellent option for selected patients with thyroid and parathyroid diseases.
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrine Surgery, Department of Surgery, Nagasaki University, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8102, Japan. maedas@net.nagasaki-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Shigeto
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Minami
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hayashida
authors.forename: Tamotsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuroki
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Furuichi
authors.forename: Nozomu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.forename: Katsu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishigaki
authors.forename: Ryuichiro
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Suto
authors.forename: Junichiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Furui
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kanematsu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck / Q000601:surgery; D010279:Parathyroid Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D020535:Video-Assisted Surgery / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*