A "pilot light" of the right non-recurrent laryngeal nerve.
Total thyroidectomy was performed in a 53-year-old male, with Graves-Basedow's disease. At surgery, the vagus nerve was found to be located medially to the carotid artery associated with a non-recurrent laryngeal nerve arising directly from the cervical vagus: this association has never been described in the literature. These results indicate that a medial location of the vagus nerve may be considered as a "pilot light" of the non-recurrent laryngeal nerve.
Toniato
A
A
Surgical Pathology, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Padua, Italy. toniato@unipd.it
Merante Boschin
I
I
Pagetta
C
C
Casalide
E
E
Pelizzo
M
M
D000015:Abnormalities, Multiple / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007432:Intraoperative Period; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012009:Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve / Q000002:abnormalities*; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000002:abnormalities*