Robotic versus Endoscopic Thyroidectomy for Thyroid Cancers: A Multi-Institutional Analysis of Early Postoperative Outcomes and Surgical Learning Curves

Abstract

Robotic thyroidectomy is an emerging technique with postoperative outcomes that are at least comparable to those of conventional endoscopic thyroidectomy, with some end-points appearing superior. Our multicenter series represents the largest comparison of robotic and endoscopic thyroidectomy to date, with results suggesting a comparable robot technology we used that could overcome some of the technical limitations associated with conventional endoscopic procedures, with reduced operation times and increased lymph node retrieval. Moreover, we found that the learning curve for robotic thyroidectomy was shorter than that for endoscopic thyroidectomy.

Figure 1

(a–d) Individual learning curves for robotic thyroidectomy (RT) and endoscopic thyroidectomy (ET); The graph plots the time taken to perform each procedure as a function of the number of patients. The moving average method was used to determine changes in operation times for each surgeon. The time required for each surgeon to perform RT decreased after 35–50 patients, whereas the time required by each to perform ET decreased after 55–70 patients.