Polski przeglad chirurgiczny
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The recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) is particularly prone to injury during thyroidectomy in case of extralaryngeal bifurcation being present in approximately one-third of patients near the inferior thyroid artery or ligament of Berry. Meticulous surgical dissection in this area may be additionally facilitated by the use of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) to assure safe and complete removal of thyroid tissue. The aim of the study was to verify the hypothesis that meticulous surgical technique of tissue dissection in the area of the posterior surface of the thyroid capsule and adjacent RLN may be additionally facilitated by intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM), and may contribute to increasing the safety and radicalness of total thyroidectomy in patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer. ⋯ Most patients with WDTC who undergo total thyroidectomy have a small amount of residual thyroid tissue. The use of IONM may improve the outcomes of surgery among these patients by both increasing the completeness of total thyroidectomy and significantly reducing the prevalence of temporary RLN injury. The possible mechanism of this improvement is the aid in dissection at the level of the Berry's ligament offered by IONM which enhances the surgeon's ability to identify a branched RLN, and allows for reduction of traction injury and neuropraxia of the anterior branch of bifid nerves.