The estimation of the thyroid volume before surgery—an important prerequisite for minimally invasive thyroidectomy

Introduction Actually, thyroid volume >25 ml, obtained by preoperative ultrasound evaluation, is a very important exclusion criteria for minimally invasive thyroidectomy. So far, among different imaging techniques, two-dimensional ultrasonography has become the more accepted method for the assessment of thyroid volume (US-TV). The aims of this study were: (1) to estimate the preoperative thyroid volume in patients undergoing minimally invasive total thyroidectomy using a mathematical formula and (2) to verify its validity by comparing it with the postsurgical TV (PS-TV). Materials and method In 53 patients who underwent minimally invasive total thyroidectomy (from January 2003 to December 2007), US-TV, obtained by ellipsoid volume formula, was compared to PS-TV determined by the Archimedes’ principle. A mathematical formula able to predict the TV from the US-TV was applied in 34 cases in the last 2 years. Results Mean US-TV (14.4 ± 5.9 ml) was significantly lower than mean PS-TV (21.7 ± 10.3 ml). This underestimation was related to gland multinodularity and/or nodular involvement of the isthmus. A mathematical formula to reduce US-TV underestimation and predict the real TV was developed using a linear model. Mean predicted TV (16.8 ± 3.7 ml) perfectly matched mean PS-TV, underestimating PS-TV in 19% of cases. We verified the accuracy of this mathematical model in patients’ eligibility for minimally invasive total thyroidectomy, and we demonstrated that a predicted TV