title: The eligibility of MIVA approach in thyroid surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Thyroid size, by preoperative ultrasound evaluation, is a very important criterion of minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy (MIVAT) exclusion because the working space provided by the technique is limited. The aim of this work is to verify the suitability of MIVAT and its applicability in clinical practice in patients with a thyroid volume up to 50 ml.
  
  
  METHODS
  From January 2003 to February 2006, 33 patients were selected for MIVAT. A completely gas-less procedure was carried out through a central skin incision performed "high" between the cricoid and jugular notch.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The skin incision performed was from 20 to 35 mm (mean 24.88 mm +/- 2.74) for different thyroid sizes. We obtained in all cases excellent results about patients cure rate and comfort, few cases of postoperative pain, and attractive cosmetic results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, we demonstrated that the MIVAT, for thyroids up to 50 ml in volume, is feasible and safe. This procedure allows more patients, who would have been excluded before, to take advantage of this minimally invasive approach with good cosmetic results, highly regarded by young female patients, and reduced paresthetic consequences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery Francesco Durante, University of Rome La Sapienza, Viale del Policlinico, 00161 Rome, Italy. massimo.ruggieri@uniroma1.it
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruggieri
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Straniero
authors.forename: Mariapia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Genderini
authors.forename: Massimino
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Armiento
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fumarola
authors.forename: Pierpaolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Trimboli
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gargiulo
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D018579:Patient Selection; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000473:pathology*; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000379:methods*; D020535:Video-Assisted Surgery