Preliminary experience with transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy via vestibular approach: a report of 150 cases in a single center

To summarize the preliminary experience with transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy via vestibular approach (TOETVA). A total of 150 consecutive patients with thyroid disease underwent TOETVA from November 2014 to February 2017 at Department of Thyroid Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine. The patients were comprised of 138 females and 12 males. The mean age of the patients was (31.7±7.6) years (ranging from 15 to 51 years). There were 108 patients of differential thyroid carcinoma (T1 or T2 ≤3 cm, cN0 or cN1a, M0) and 42 patients of benign thyroid disease (solid nodule ≤6 cm). The criteria analyzed were clinicopathologic characteristics, types of operation, operation time, complications and results of follow-up. Two cases were converted into open surgery due to an incredible unexpected tumor size and tracheal invasion, respectively. One hundred and three patients with papillary carcinoma underwent transoral central neck dissection (CND), with the mean operation time o