Transoral Robotic Thyroidectomy Versus Conventional Open Thyroidectomy: Comparative Analysis of Surgical Outcomes in Thyroid Malignancies

Background: Various approaches for thyroid surgery became possible with the use of robotic systems. Transoral robotic thyroidectomy (TORT) is one of the newest approaches and draws attention because of its cosmetic excellence. In this study, we compared the surgical outcomes of TORT and conventional open thyroidectomy (OT). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed and compared the medical records of consecutive patients who underwent TORT or OT for thyroid carcinoma from April 2016 to March 2017. Results: The study included 205 patients who underwent TORT (n = 100) or OT (n = 105). Mean tumor size was 0.9 cm in both groups. The two groups showed similar surgical outcomes, except for a longer operative time for TORT. Conclusions: TORT could be performed safely and had comparable surgical outcomes with OT in the selected patients. TORT may be considered a suitable operative alternative for patients who do not want to leave scars on the neck.